COMM 1
Principles of Oral Communication
Description: Lecture, four hours. Enforced requisite: satisfaction of Entry-Level Writing requirement. Examination of foundations of communication and public speaking. Consideration of number of basic theories related to study of communication and development of skills to enable composition and delivery of speeches in accordance with specific rhetorical concepts. Improvement of ability to analyze, organize, and critically think about communicative messages while becoming better equipped to articulate ideas. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
2 of 2
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - This was one of my first classes I have taken at UCLA. Since it is a speech class, I was definitely nervous, but this nervousness went away after literally the first day. From the get go, he goes over everything you will be doing over the quarter. The class consists of 3 speeches that are around 5-7 mins each (biography, informative, and persuasive), and a paper in which you analyze a speaker (4-7 pages). The lowest grade I received on a speech was a 95 on my first one. From there on I got 100s on all of the assignments- including the paper. Kochian is a very fair grader and the assignments are incredibly easy and flexible. He goes out of his way to make everyone feel comfortable and has a lighthearted and endearing spirit about him. I am extremely glad I took this class with this professor, he definitely made it worthwhile. Of course this was during COVID so it was a bit easier, but I learned a lot about how to perfect my own public speaking. Overall, I enjoyed the class and would encourage everyone to take it with him for an easy A and caring professor.
Fall 2020 - This was one of my first classes I have taken at UCLA. Since it is a speech class, I was definitely nervous, but this nervousness went away after literally the first day. From the get go, he goes over everything you will be doing over the quarter. The class consists of 3 speeches that are around 5-7 mins each (biography, informative, and persuasive), and a paper in which you analyze a speaker (4-7 pages). The lowest grade I received on a speech was a 95 on my first one. From there on I got 100s on all of the assignments- including the paper. Kochian is a very fair grader and the assignments are incredibly easy and flexible. He goes out of his way to make everyone feel comfortable and has a lighthearted and endearing spirit about him. I am extremely glad I took this class with this professor, he definitely made it worthwhile. Of course this was during COVID so it was a bit easier, but I learned a lot about how to perfect my own public speaking. Overall, I enjoyed the class and would encourage everyone to take it with him for an easy A and caring professor.
AD
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2017 - Selling all books for COMM 1 with Mack. Text ********** if interested. Overall, it was a fun, easy class. Your grade consists of 5 assignments: Impromptu job pitch, ceremonial speech, informative speech, persuasive speech, and a paper analyzing the persuasive elements of a famous speech (Gettysburg, Churchill, etc...). Plan ahead for the speeches, give them a few run-throughs, and you'll be fine. Mack is very approachable and easy to talk to, so definitely take advantage of that if you have any questions. Good class if you want to improve or refine your public speaking skills.
Fall 2017 - Selling all books for COMM 1 with Mack. Text ********** if interested. Overall, it was a fun, easy class. Your grade consists of 5 assignments: Impromptu job pitch, ceremonial speech, informative speech, persuasive speech, and a paper analyzing the persuasive elements of a famous speech (Gettysburg, Churchill, etc...). Plan ahead for the speeches, give them a few run-throughs, and you'll be fine. Mack is very approachable and easy to talk to, so definitely take advantage of that if you have any questions. Good class if you want to improve or refine your public speaking skills.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - Class structure: • Pretty small class (around ~20-30 people, think high school), which made it less "scary" when delivering speeches; you'll definitely know everyone in the class by the end of the quarter. • Professor is very engaging during her lectures. Sometimes there were impromptu speech activities based on the lecture concepts, in which you get into groups & deliver a very short speech based on your assigned prompt. These were very easy since you could delegate spoken points across your group. • Attendance is apart of your grade & mandatory! I personally missed 1 class, but I let the professor know beforehand & I received a 95% on my attendance by the end of the quarter. Speeches: • The class itself consists of 3 speeches--an introduction speech, an informational speech, a persuasive speech. All speeches are around ~5 minutes, & you can use notes during them. You must submit an outline of your speech (ie. bullet points) & the professor will provide feedback before you present. You also need some sort of visual aid (most people did slides) to accompany your speech. • The last speech is a commemorative speech, which is a little different to the previous speeches--it's only 3 minutes & it consists of receiving/giving an award from/to a classmate. The professor briefs you on this later in the quarter. • Even if you're "bad" at public speaking, the lowest grade I've seen on Bruinlearn for the speeches is a B--as long as you put in effort & demonstrate that you tried, you'll definitely be fine. Final/Midterm: • There's no midterm exam! :) • The final is a multiple choice & short answer exam, entirely based on the study guide provided at the beginning of the course. There's around ~60(?) multiple choices questions, & 15 short answer questions (you only have to answer 11 of them). The short answer questions are pretty flexible--there's no required word count requirement, so long as your answer demonstrates your understanding of the concept. I personally used a Quizlet I found online, it's pretty much just memorization of vocabulary terms/concepts. • Also, the final is taken during week 10, so you have one less final to worry about during finals week which is nice. Overall--pretty easy class! Definitely improved my public speaking skills; as long as you put in the effort & you'll definitely get at the very least a B.
Fall 2025 - Class structure: • Pretty small class (around ~20-30 people, think high school), which made it less "scary" when delivering speeches; you'll definitely know everyone in the class by the end of the quarter. • Professor is very engaging during her lectures. Sometimes there were impromptu speech activities based on the lecture concepts, in which you get into groups & deliver a very short speech based on your assigned prompt. These were very easy since you could delegate spoken points across your group. • Attendance is apart of your grade & mandatory! I personally missed 1 class, but I let the professor know beforehand & I received a 95% on my attendance by the end of the quarter. Speeches: • The class itself consists of 3 speeches--an introduction speech, an informational speech, a persuasive speech. All speeches are around ~5 minutes, & you can use notes during them. You must submit an outline of your speech (ie. bullet points) & the professor will provide feedback before you present. You also need some sort of visual aid (most people did slides) to accompany your speech. • The last speech is a commemorative speech, which is a little different to the previous speeches--it's only 3 minutes & it consists of receiving/giving an award from/to a classmate. The professor briefs you on this later in the quarter. • Even if you're "bad" at public speaking, the lowest grade I've seen on Bruinlearn for the speeches is a B--as long as you put in effort & demonstrate that you tried, you'll definitely be fine. Final/Midterm: • There's no midterm exam! :) • The final is a multiple choice & short answer exam, entirely based on the study guide provided at the beginning of the course. There's around ~60(?) multiple choices questions, & 15 short answer questions (you only have to answer 11 of them). The short answer questions are pretty flexible--there's no required word count requirement, so long as your answer demonstrates your understanding of the concept. I personally used a Quizlet I found online, it's pretty much just memorization of vocabulary terms/concepts. • Also, the final is taken during week 10, so you have one less final to worry about during finals week which is nice. Overall--pretty easy class! Definitely improved my public speaking skills; as long as you put in the effort & you'll definitely get at the very least a B.
AD
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2020 - DO. NOT. TAKE. COMM 1 WITH MILLER. This man consistently loses over half of the classes' assignments despite all of us resending all of them THROUGH EMAIL multiple times. His voice is also extremely difficult to understand and listen to in general. He sometimes makes jokes with misogynistic and racist undertones and is overall unbearably annoying to interact with, even on zoom.
Summer 2020 - DO. NOT. TAKE. COMM 1 WITH MILLER. This man consistently loses over half of the classes' assignments despite all of us resending all of them THROUGH EMAIL multiple times. His voice is also extremely difficult to understand and listen to in general. He sometimes makes jokes with misogynistic and racist undertones and is overall unbearably annoying to interact with, even on zoom.
Most Helpful Review
I loved this class! It was so fun and truly helped me learned about public speaking and appreciation for others. I recommend this course. Yes, its easy, but you truly learn more than that! Professor Miller can be extremely funny and blunt but I truly think he cares about the subject and simply wishes to see people improve in their ability to tell stories. Take this class!
I loved this class! It was so fun and truly helped me learned about public speaking and appreciation for others. I recommend this course. Yes, its easy, but you truly learn more than that! Professor Miller can be extremely funny and blunt but I truly think he cares about the subject and simply wishes to see people improve in their ability to tell stories. Take this class!
2 of 2
