COMM 301: Presentational Speaking, Jenny Tighe

Presentational Speaking is an upper level Communication Studies course and an elective for Public Relation Majors taught by Professor Jennifer Tighe. The course is designed to teach students how to engage with presentational formats utilized in the work place. Students learn the use of professional tone, and conduct virtual and professional interviewing and live webinar events.    

Despite teaching this course for many years, the switch to virtual learning left Professor Tighe with some changes to make. “I didn’t want students to put together arbitrary presentations that didn’t have a lot of meaning so working with a partner gave us the opportunity to create a presentation that has some usefulness,” Professor Tighe explained. Part of her process, she adds, was rethinking what “engagement” with that partner looks like during Covid 19 and holding true to the principles of community engaged learning

“The real challenge of the class is learning how to engage with audience-centered speaking and so to have a client with a defined audience that moves students away from their own demographic was a great exchange. We were able to offer a product to our partner and the students would get the opportunity to reach an audience beyond a typical group of college students.”

That partner was the Evanston Employment Resource Center (EERC), a community based nonprofit operated by Evanston Community Council, that empowers individuals to improve their employment opportunities by connecting them to citywide employers and the vital resources necessary to retain their job. Professor Tighe has worked with multiple community partners over the past twenty years and collaborated with the Eigel Center to help shape the partnership with the EERC.

Working with EERC’s all community volunteer staff, Professor Tighe’s students listened and learned about challenges facing job applicants, and conducted audience and topic research related to themes shared by staff that addressed these challenges.  Thereafter, students developed scripts and created screencast recordings to be used by the EERC when assisting clients with job exploration and interviewing.  (Watch examples of the students’ final projects including “How to Succeed in the New Workforce,” and “Prep Your Tech”).The strategy of producing video content was partially in response to EERC’s restrictions on in person consultation and support because of the pandemic.     

Jan Vrba, a Communication Studies Major, reflects, “In this class I felt different because what I’m putting out there really can be used and utilized. It just made me feel like the better project I do the more relevant it will for the community partners. This same motivation made me try harder and want to do well [in this class].”