Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Module: Week 9 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute sessions + one weekly Speech Workshop
Objective covered: Objective 5 (delivery portion) — Use effective, ethical, and inclusive language and strong vocal and physical delivery (the four delivery methods; rate, pitch, volume, pauses, articulation; eye contact, gestures, movement, posture).

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 9 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Week 9 Announcement that drips out when the module opens. Dates below assume a Tuesday/Thursday pattern with Week 9 meeting Tue Oct 27 and Thu Oct 29, a Speech Workshop that same week, and end-of-week work due Sunday Nov 1, 11:59 p.m. Adjust the day-of-week and times to match your section.

(A) Module 9 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 9: Delivery & the Modes of Delivery

This is your home base for the week. Read it first, then work the checklist below from top to bottom. Everything you need is linked inside the module.

Welcome back from the midterm. You've built the conceptual foundation — how communication works, how to listen, how to select a topic and purpose, how to research and cite, how to organize, how to outline, and how to use language effectively. Now we turn to the half of the course that's the most visible — and for many students the most anxiety-producing: what happens when you actually stand up and speak.

This week is about delivery — the way you use your voice and your body to get your message across. And we start with a distinction that matters more than almost any other in the course: the four methods of delivery, especially the critical difference between memorized and extemporaneous. Those two words sound similar but they point in opposite directions, and getting them confused is one of the most common mistakes new speakers make.

We'll also map the landscape of vocal delivery — rate, pitch, volume, pauses, articulation, and vocal variety — and physical delivery — eye contact, gestures, movement, posture, and facial expression. These are the tools you already have. This week, you learn to use them deliberately.

The week's big question

"How do I deliver a speech so that my voice and body reinforce the message instead of fighting it — and which delivery method is actually the right one to aim for?"

By the end of this week, you can…

Use this as a checklist. If you can do all four out loud, you're ready for the quiz.

• [ ] Name and distinguish all four delivery methods — manuscript, memorized, impromptu, and extemporaneous — including when each is appropriate and what the risks of each are.
• [ ] Explain why extemporaneous is the recommended default and why it is not the same as memorized delivery.
• [ ] Identify and apply the elements of vocal delivery — rate, pitch, volume, pauses, articulation, vocal variety, and emphasis — and explain how a strategic pause differs from a filler ("um," "like").
• [ ] Identify and apply the elements of physical delivery — eye contact, gestures, movement, posture, and facial expression — and self-assess your own delivery on a recording.

What's due this week, and when

Work these in order — each one gets you ready for the next.

This week the Workshop and the Assignment both involve recording yourself — give yourself time for a couple of takes. The goal isn't a perfect performance; it's an honest self-assessment you can learn from.

How to succeed this week

• Nail the four modes first. Extemporaneous, memorized, manuscript, and impromptu — know each one cold before the quiz. The #1 trap is confusing memorized and extemporaneous. They sound similar; they are fundamentally different.
• The "7%/38%/55%" claim. You may have heard or read that 7% of communication is verbal, 38% is vocal tone, and 55% is body language. This claim — from researcher Albert Mehrabian's work in the late 1960s — is widely misapplied. Mehrabian studied very specific emotional contexts, not public speeches in general. Delivery matters a great deal, but that formula does not mean "words don't matter." We'll address it carefully in class and in the Discussion.
• Record everything. The camera is the most honest coach in this course. Watching your delivery even once — noticing your pace, your eye contact, your filler words — gives you data no amount of studying can.
• Focus outward during delivery. The self-consciousness that makes delivery feel awkward ("do I look weird?") is cured by focusing on the audience and the message, not on yourself.

You've built something real over the past eight weeks. This week, you learn to make it land.

(B) Week 9 Announcement

Release setting: post on the module's start day (offset = 0 days from module open), i.e., Mon Oct 26, 2026 — before Tuesday's session. If your platform won't preserve the scheduled date on import, post this as a draft labeled "Release: Mon Oct 26."

Subject: Week 9 — Welcome back. Now let's talk about how you actually sound.

Hi everyone,

Welcome back from the midterm. You've earned this week — you showed up, prepared, and got through the first big assessment. Now we do the part of public speaking that no quiz or outline can fully replace: you actually stand up and speak.

This week — Delivery & the Modes of Delivery — we answer the question: How do I use my voice and body to reinforce the message instead of getting in the way? We start with something that surprises a lot of people: the best delivery isn't memorized. It isn't reading from a script. It's extemporaneous — well-prepared but conversational, delivered from a keyword outline, not a script. That's the target, and by the end of the week you'll understand exactly why.

Three things not to miss:

1. Lecture Tutorial 9 — work through the four delivery methods, vocal elements, and physical delivery with one approved chatbot. Due Sun Nov 1.
2. Speech Workshop 9 — record a 60–90-second extemporaneous passage, self-assess your vocal and physical delivery against the rubric, and catch the AI coach's empty praise. Due Sun Nov 1.
3. Discussion 9 — engage the question "what matters more: what you say or how you say it?" including the famous (and famously misused) Mehrabian claim. Initial post Thu Oct 29.

One note: this week's Discussion asks you to think about the "7%/38%/55%" claim you may have seen about communication. We treat it carefully here — it's real research, but it's been routinely taken out of context. That kind of critical reading is exactly what SLO B is about.

See you Tuesday.

Prof. Marchetti