Speech workshops get students talking

Workshops sponsored by the theater and speech communication department are designed to help students better understand the art of speech and to identify their own style of communication.

The department has been hosting the workshops for about five years, speech Instructor Jolinda Ramsey said Friday.

"The workshops are beneficial to speech students because they can learn about a certain speech topic with numerous instructors, getting a different viewpoint from what their professors lecture on during class," Ramsey said.

The workshops, which usually are facilitated by department faculty, typically attract 40 to 60 students in various majors, Ramsey said.

Because of the success of the speech workshops, two more workshops have been added this semester, for a total of seven, compared to last semester's five.

Wednesday's speech workshop was somewhat different from previous workshops, however. Instead of being directed by professors or instructors, students majoring in speech communication served as facilitators.

"Because we have such a great group of speech communication majors this semester, the department asked if any of the students would like to host one of the speech workshops," Ramsey said.

Five students volunteered. Julian Coronado, Jessica Gonzales, Leonard Herbeck, Eboni Staten and Ashley Walker, who are all speech communication sophomores, hosted the first student-run workshop.

Ramsey said students worked hard preparing for the event, including meeting off campus to develop plans for the workshop and that it was outstanding to hear students talk about doing what they are studying.

"The student-hosted workshop was a really neat opportunity because it was the first time speech students got to host it," Walker, one of the student hosts, said.

Wednesday's workshop looked at styles of conflict and communication, Gonzales, another of the students, said.

The department's final speech workshop of the spring semester will be 2 p.m.–3 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium of McAllister Fine Arts Center. The event is free and open to all students. The topic is "Say It With Style — Effective Delivery."

For information, call 486-0496.