In 1994 the Commission on Undergraduate Education recommended that the university enhance students’ instruction in oral communication. The Oral Communication Program at the Center for Teaching and Learning serves this mandate in a variety of ways:
Oral Communication Workshops:
If your students will be giving oral presentations of their work, prepare them ahead of time with a workshop on effective public speaking from Program Director Doree Allen, Ph.D., or her associate, Thomas Freeland, Ph.D. These workshops, which are tailored especially to your students’ needs, are a great way to get them thinking about how to structure and deliver their presentations.
Incorporating a Speaking Component into Your Class:
We work with faculty members and instructors to integrate speech training effectively into a course’s existing structure and content. It is easier than you may think! To minimize any additional time commitment on your part, we can assign expert student Oral Communication Tutors (OCTs) to your class project. Whether your students are in the initial brainstorming stages or are polishing their final drafts, OCTs can offer personalized advice and coaching throughout the presentation process. Our tutors merge seamlessly into your classes, providing maximum benefit with minimum disruption. Please contact us if you are interested in developing a speaking component for your course, or if you’d simply like to enhance the quality of your students’ oral presentations.
The Speaking Center:
The Speaking Center is a resource center staffed by Oral Communication Tutors (OCTs), who can videotape practice sessions and offer personalized feedback and advice on virtually any aspect of your students’ presentations. The Center also features a multimedia library of instructional public speaking materials. We offer individual and group appointments in addition to our regularly-scheduled OCT office hours, and we encourage instructors to make these meetings a class requirement.

For more information, please contact: