Professor
Francesco MuzzarelliLearning objectives
At the end of the course the student will acquire the ability to consciously control the critical variables of oral presentation in public, both linguistic and extralinguistic, functional to producing clear, lively and concrete messages.
Particular emphasis will be given to the architectural criteria of the narrative thread, the governance of vocal dynamics and the operational methods of managing the audience's attention.
Course content
• Introduction: How to be clear and convincing in public speaking?
Public speaking skills: when and why they are important.
The crucial levers: content competence, narrative thread, dynamic vocality, emotional governance, intentionality.
Speakers compared.
From theoretical knowledge to conscious and systematic practice.
• The physiology of the message
The factors of expository clarity: promote listening, understanding and recall of the message.
Spectacular versus boring of the speaker: the linguistic and extralinguistic elements involved.
The attention span of the audience and its management based on the duration of the speech.
The circadian cycle and the ultradian cycle: time slots and optimal times for speaking in public.
• The structure of the speech
The pre-analysis of the audience.
The focus of the theme, the objective and the expected result.
The selection of focal points and their connection.
The dynamic balance between synthesis and redundancy.
Quality and quantity of visual aids.
The Closure: The summary of the objective and key points.
• Voice management
The role of breathing.
The operating levers to be trained: volume, tone, rhythm, pauses, timbre.
Vocal dynamics and its conscious control.
• Body language
Gaze, facial expressions, gestures, posture, use of distances and movements: what to do and what not to do to be effective.
• Performance anxiety
The origin of social anxiety in public presentation.
Psychodramatic exploration of personal constraints on performance expression.
The role of preparation.
The role of the method.
Illustration of simple methods of reducing performance anxiety.
Bibliography
Muzzarelli F. (2021), Orator's Manual. Method and Technique of Public Speaking, Tecniche Nuove, Milan
Trupia F.; Granelli A. (2019), Rhetoric is alive. And in excellent health, Franco Angeli, Milan
Trupia F. (2024), Long Live Rhetoric Always!, Piemme, Milan
Teaching methods and tools
The teaching strategy includes moments of a theoretical-methodological nature combined with behavioral simulations carried out in small groups and in plenary.
During the course the student will be involved in experiential activities of increasing complexity (from the expressive reading of selected songs to improvisation tests) and will plan/stage a specific themed speech, so as to train and verify their incisiveness in the relationship with the public . Furthermore, thanks to the application of psychodramatic direction, each student will make contact with their own emotional resources and identify functional ways to contain performance anxiety.
Numerous videos will be presented and commented on, to promote the aptitude for analyzing the quality of speech and mimetic learning processes.
Assessment methods and criteria
The learning assessment is of two types and is carried out as specified below:
Ongoing oral test (from and including the 3rd meeting onwards):
• public speech on a topic of the student's choice, lasting 8 – 10 minutes, prepared at home. This test mainly has the value of reinforcing learning and accounts for 10% of the final grade.
Final written test (open and closed questions) on:
• program carried out in class (personal notes and PDF slides)
• mandatory text indicated in the reference bibliography
