Diploma Syllabus
Dip.Sp.Comm.
The Dip.Sp.Comm. programme consists of 12 modules and a final assignment:
I. Speakers and Speeches - Review of each student's present speaking skills and communication objectives. Informing, entertaining and persuading. Delivering messages with enthusiasm and passion. Developing one's own ideas, themes and key messages. Speaking to a declared purpose and with sincerity, conviction and persuasiveness. How to connect and convince. Knowing one's objectives for each presentation. Knowing one's audience and their expectations; developing their trust and confidence and how to have them wanting to hear more. Cross Cultural Issues. Power listening. Introduction to the psychology of spoken communication.
II. You and Your Voice The voice is a person's most powerful weapon and the most incredibly expressive communication tool. It is infinitely dynamic and unique to each individual but only a handful of people begin to develop its true potential. Varying pitch, pace and volume. Elocution and accent, articulation and diction, confidence and clarity. Breathing. Vocal variety and vocal energy. Script reading, acting and singing techniques together with an introduction to the physiology of speaking.
III. The Language of the Body - Gestures and beyond - using the hands, face and entire body to improve effectiveness. Non Verbal Communication. Allying body language to words, meaning, emphases and tonal variety. How to handle nerves and channel adrenaline into courage. Socio-psychological ideas of relevance.
IV. Speech Preparation and Construction - Speech preparation in the Information/Knowledge Society - using next year's New Technology: utilising digital sources to optimum effect. Developing content that will underpin key messages. Selecting the most appropriate speech structure to deliver positive outcomes. Concentrating on key messages and developing content which buttresses them and arranging what is to be said in a logical, consistent manner. Explaining complicated information clearly. Introduction to communication theory.
V. Vocabulary, Rhetoric and Metaphor - Vocabulary and word pictures - how to emphasise your message with superb and suitable language. The Fog and Smog Indices. Utilising powerful and appropriate vocabulary. Slang and idiom. The evolution of language. Metaphor. The notion of 'good English'; language and class.
VI. Notes, Props and Aids - Prepare and use notes that facilitate the smooth flow of your speech. Speaking without notes. The impromptu speech; the written speech Use of audio, visual and audio-visual aids, laptops, PowerPoint and beyond. Message crafting and Audio-visual narrative.
VII. That Serious Issue of Humour - explore different types of comedy, finding just the right style for you. Telling a joke. The psychology of humour. Creative use of appropriate humour and speaking dynamism.
VIII. Convivial Conversations and Social Communication - Analyses of informal spoken communication between family members, friends, workmates and those met in shops and at social events and elsewhere. History of conversation. Situations and suitability. Telephones and tomorrow's world. Etiquette and effectiveness.
IX Formal Presentations - professional, technical and social. Clarifying the purpose: behaviour change, comprehension of an idea, purchase of a commodity. Political communication, institutional advertising and personal branding. Opinion leaders, the public debate and social networks.
X. Effective Meetings - various kinds of gatherings. Internal, external, public and private communication. Overt and hidden purposes; formal and hidden agendas. Meeting dynamics. Rules of procedure. Chairmanship skills. Conflict and crisis management through negotiation and mediation. Arguments and their resolution. Advocacy and arbitration.
XI. Impressive Interviews Applications, CVs and Cover Letters. Interview techniques Planning, preparation and arriving at the interview. Building rapport with the Interviewer. Competency based interview skills; handling tricky situations, managing interview presentations, closing the interview, handling the job offer. Conducting interviews - alternate points of view.
XII. The Compleat Communicator - tying theory and practice together and applying the whole with power and persuasion to the listening world. Speeches on special occasions: after dinner, weddings, funerals, awards, tributes, introductions, votes of thanks, resignations. Media skills. Ethics, manipulation and media power. Education and spoken communication. Debating. Clubs and contests. Evaluating other speakers, dealing with hecklers and coaching novices.
The final assignment comprises a major project with both practical and theoretical elements.
As well as material related to each Module, a Course Introduction will be prepared and provided. This item, along with all other course materials, as well as tutor's comments, will be distributed electronically.
There are no required books or necessary reference items other than those accessible at no cost through the internet.
It is necessary that each student should have access to a computer and be fully familiar with emailing and the internet generally. As audio/video recording playback and analysis will form the basis for speaking development, students should also be (or be confident in becoming) fully competent is recording and uploading their speeches and presentations: this form of communication will be an integral course component.
This offers an opportunity for the student to demonstrate all of the spoken communication skills that have been developed during the course and to reflect upon them on the basis of the theoretical material studied. Both the practical submissions and the written analyses will be strictly evaluated.
The practical element will comprise a total of 20-30 minutes of speeches, presentations and other evidence of the student's proficiency in spoken communication. This may comprise no fewer than two and no more than four separate items, each of which should demonstrate skills and approaches addressed in the Diploma programme.
Complementing these practical items, the student should submit a written dissertation of between 2,500 and 3,000 words, relating the speeches and presentations submitted to selected aspects of the course now completed.
After the twelfth and final module has been submitted and returned, students will receive further information on the requirements of the final assignment and should then discuss their intended approaches with the tutor.
The final assignment will be marked by two experienced CoPS faculty members, other than the student's tutor.
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The College of Public Speaking is committed to the development of effective communication throughout all strands of society, both within the UK and internationally. CoPS's trainers and lecturers devote a proportion of their time and expertise to a myriad of pro bono projects.