Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Public Speaking
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, Spanish
Teaching staff
Students may visit the course instructor during the following office hours: Mondays from 10:00 to 14:00 and Thursdays from 13:00 to 15:00. To ensure the instructor’s availability, students are advised to send an email in advance.
Introduction
Public Speaking is a course designed to develop oral communication skills in academic, professional, and social contexts. Students learn how to structure and deliver speeches with clarity, confidence, and effectiveness, adapting their message to different audiences and situations. Through practical activities, students work on aspects such as verbal and non-verbal communication, argumentation skills, voice modulation, and body language, as well as English language proficiency.
The course also covers public speaking in digital environments and how to communicate clear and effective messages in corporate videos, television, radio/podcasts, and interviews.
Pre-course requirements
No.
Objectives
- To progressively overcome fear or insecurity when speaking in public.
- To improve pronunciation, diction, and intonation in English.
- To learn how to modulate the voice appropriately in an oral presentation.
- To develop basic habits related to body posture, eye contact, and non-verbal communication.
- To organise a simple and concise oral presentation.
- To gain confidence to participate actively in academic and early-stage professional environments.
- To understand and adapt to the differences between public speaking and communicating through digital media (radio and audiovisual media).
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CN01 - Explain the foundations of classical and contemporary culture in order to interpret current communication trends and phenomena.
- CN02 - Recognise the textual, graphic and audiovisual expressive and narrative resources used to create effective persuasive messages in advertising and public relations.
- CN05 - Recognise the principal artificial intelligence tools with applications in advertising, marketing and public relations.
- CP01 - Work effectively in professional advertising and public relations teams, adapting to multidisciplinary and changing environments.Work effectively in professional teams involved in audiovisual production, adapting to multidisciplinary and changing environments.
- CP02 - Communicate persuasive arguments orally and in writing in Catalan, Spanish and English, demonstrating strong skills in summarising and memorisation.
- CP05 - Manage relationships between advertisers and agencies effectively, applying media planning and buying strategies in multi-channel advertising and public relations environments.
- CP07 - Produce audiovisual advertising projects using core techniques in storytelling, recording, editing and post-production for a range of formats and media channels, taking economic viability into account.
- CP09 - Create multi-platform advertising content using narrative and digital marketing strategies adapted to different formats and channels.
- CP10 - Create graphic and visual elements by applying principles of design and visual communication to advertising and public relations campaigns.
- HB04 - Design strategic communication and public relations plans that respond to the needs of organisations across different sectors.
- HB05 - Use advertising language and narrative techniques to develop persuasive messages for advertising and public relations campaigns.
- HB08 - Develop creative advertising messages, adapting language and style to different contexts and formats.
- HB09 - Critically examine information derived from advertising and public relations messages across a range of media formats and platforms in order to assess their market viability.
- HB12 - Use specialised English terminology in advertising and public relations.
Learning outcomes of the subject
Students will be able to:
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Communicate orally and in writing with accuracy, clarity, fluency, and the ability to synthesise and memorise texts.
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Master writing techniques to create texts commonly used in commercial and institutional communication, using artificial intelligence-based tools to optimise writing and personalise messages according to the target audience.
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Become familiar with the linguistic, iconic, and visual resources that make up persuasive language, incorporating artificial intelligence tools to analyse visual trends and improve design quality.
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Present arguments in an intelligible and convincing manner.
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Create radio and television content.
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Master the most innovative visual communication techniques and recognise the main theories of the image in order to create impactful audiovisual content.
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Master the main techniques and tools for composition, lighting, photography, and studio recording.
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Analyse the channels through which communications aimed at a target audience can be transmitted.
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Master verbal and body language in front of a camera, an audience, or an auditorium, applying professional voice and presentation techniques to make an impact through their communication style.
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Communicate creatively and persuasively through written or audiovisual media. Deepen their knowledge of persuasive communication techniques.
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Master advertising language, both verbal and audiovisual, to create spots aimed at different audiences and adapted to various media.
Syllabus
- Mental and physical techniques to overcome fear and improve diction and speech fluency.
- The art of summarising: breakdown, keywords, and prioritisation of ideas.
- Techniques for capturing attention and persuading an audience. Gestural language.
- Techniques for speaking into a radio microphone and in front of a television camera.
- Speech-writing techniques. Improvisation techniques.
- Analysis of other speakers in different contexts.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
Assessment: 70% class participation and 30% final examination.
Final examination (group presentation in groups of three + oral defence):
Students will be divided into groups of three. Halfway through the semester, each group will choose a topic of their choice on which they will prepare a presentation.
Following each group’s presentation (15 minutes), the instructor will ask the group members questions for 10 minutes.
Each student’s individual grade will be based on their ability to speak in public, as demonstrated during the presentation, as well as their ability to reflect and construct arguments during the question-and-answer section of the examination.
Bibliography and resources
Gallo, C. (2014). Talk like TED: The 9 public-speaking secrets of the world’s top minds. St. Martin’s Press.
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. (2016). Communication in the real world: An introduction to communication studies.