Assistant to the Dean for Speech: Jack Hollinger, tchollj@tcc.edu

Assistant to The Dean for Drama:  Matthew Gorris, mgorris@tcc.edu

•  Have you been putting this off?

•  Do you know that most people would rather die than do this?

•  Do you know that most of us would rather stroke a spider or kiss a snake than do this?

•  Do you know that most of us go to the dentist more often than we do this?

•  Did you know that most of us are scared of this and that being scared is a good thing?

•  Do you know what we are talking about here?

Most of us might guess something horrific, something worse than Stephen King’s worst nightmare. Even personally distasteful subjects might come to mind, like taxes.

What could be worse than spiders, snakes, taxes, or going to the dentist?

PUBLIC SPEAKING.

If you dread public speaking, you are not alone. According to recent studies, most of us would rather be placed before a firing squad than deliver a speech.  

So why do so many programs require that you take a speech class?

•  Because the skills learned in this class carry over to every aspect of your life.  

•  Because corporations can train you to do a job, but they can't train you to communicate.

•  Because an educated individual is an articulate individual.

In other words, you take speech to:

•  get what you want from life (survival skill)

•  get a job

•  to do better in school

•  to keep your mother (and everybody else in your life) happy

Our classes here at TCC will help you learn how to effectively do all of the above.   You will become effective in managing your communication skills in public and private communication settings.

You will learn these keystone elements that will make you an effective communicator:

- an awareness of your audience                             - how to adjust to your listener

- a critical understanding of the message                 - how to say it and how to listen to it

- a control of your physical environment                    - how to package your message

Are you still scared?    Probably so.   Remember, you are not alone...Trust us.  

We can make this as painless as possible.

After all, it’s good for you.

Speech Communication is one of the oldest fields of study in Western education.

The discipline can be traced back to the academies of Aristotle, where the study of oral communication as a means of sharing information and gaining influence formed the core of the academic curriculum. Understanding the process of human communication is no less important in the Information Age than it was in the Golden Age of Greece and Rome.

Courses in Speech Communication, SPD 100 and SPD 105, focus on the theory and practice of human communication in a variety of contexts: intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, intercultural, organizational and public communication. Click here for course descriptions.