Structure of Class:
- Three speeches throughout the quarter, you get to pick your own topics
- One final paper (>5 pages double spaced)
- Participation matters, ie. responding to/critiquing your classmates' speeches

I was hesitant taking Comm 1 with a new professor because I normally suck at public speaking, and I thought I was gonna struggle. But Hurwitz proved me wrong. Not only is he charismatic and personable, he also writes really nice and helpful comments after every speech. If you're shy, this class will build your confidence in public speaking. You will not regret taking it with Professor Hurwitz.

I absolutely LOVED this class. I always looked forward to coming to class and learning from Professor Hurwitz. I took this class to practice public speaking, and I can confidently say that by the end of the quarter I felt I had greatly improved. Not only did I improve my public speaking skills, I also learned so many valuable lessons from the professor. He shared his wisdom on so many different things. During class, he broke us up into groups and gave us prompts to answer, and the best group would get extra credit. These games were so fun, and I always ended up learning something new from the professor. There were 3 speeches and 1 final speech, and the prompts were easy. He gives really great feedback, and going to his office hours allowed me to get more personal advice from him. I genuinely could not recommend this class enough and I wish I could take it again.

One word to describe this class: Very fun and actually useful.
If you have to take this class for a GE. this is the professor you want. This class is an easy pass if you participate in discussions and follow the speech prompts. The class is ran by being grouped up with people and answering prompts and the best one receives extra credit. The speeches for the midterms and final is all point based and he grades based on improvement rather than how well composed the speech is. Brian is engaging and funny.
Overall, favorite professor thus far and would even take it again.

I loved this class and thought Professor Hurwitz was great in teaching it; he has real world experience in writing scripts and being in Hollywood so he was super interesting to listen to and a really funny guy. He gives great feedback, and the public speaking isn't as scary as you would think because the classes are small and you know everyone else is doing the same thing. Participation counts!

I wish I could give Professor Hurwitz a 10! He is the most engaging educator I’ve ever had in my life, and he makes it abundantly clear he truly wishes the best for students and seeks improvement rather than perfection. Going into the class, I felt apathetic and saw the class as “something to take up my time”; after about two weeks, I began looking forward to the class and wondering what exercises we would do. The classroom was always laughing and every student was engaged in a way I didn’t think was possible. Professor Hurwitz is a master at his craft, and his passion is infectious.

His class is run as a discussion style seminar where he splits you into groups and gives brain teasers/prompts for everyone to come up with a response. They’re questions like “why should I give your team this extra credit point”, “are ghosts real”, “is Batman a superhero”, etc, and your team is only allowed to answer with a sentence or two. Your only grades are 4 speeches between 2.5-4 min, and the prompts are incredibly abstract because he wants you to have fun with it. We were given “tell us a time when you were undeniably at your best”, “aliens have come to earth and need one piece of art to represent all of humanity: what are you giving them”, and two more with similar open-endedness

Just take the class for fun, there’s no stress (coming from someone who hates presentations)

Most engaging and personable professor I've had at UCLA- cannot recommend Dr. Hurwitz enough. Class consisted of 4 speeches given throughout the quarter and 1 impromptu speech response. Prompts can be abstract but lend themselves to really fun speeches. You are only technically required to attend class the day you're assigned to speak; but I genuinely recommend going to all of his lectures as they are so funny + tons of extra credit opportunities. He is a generous grader and more concerned with your personal growth as a speaker than penalizing your grade.

Brian is the best professor I've had so far at UCLA. He's kind and helpful but doesn't shy away from giving honest feedback on your speeches. He is an incredibly engaging and funny lecturer and the in-class activities are tons of fun. I will admit that I am coming at this class from a pretty strong background of written and oral communication, so if you struggle with writing and giving speeches this class may pose a bit of a hurdle. That being said, this class is an excellent opportunity to improve in those areas and Brian won't let you plateau.

Such a great class, I would 100% recommend taking it with Hurwitz. He is very engaging and energetic through every class, and really grades based on your improvement of speeches throughout the quarter. If you're not into public speaking at all, this is a great class to become comfortable with it and in an environment where no one is judging you.
The class is basically three speech assignments where you can pick any topic that fits the category, and in between the speech assignments are just fun group exercises, ted talks, and class discussion (no homework).

This is by far one of my favorite classes at UCLA. Brian is a great professor--funny, engaging, supportive, and obsessed with Bruce Springsteen. If you want to improve public speaking, whether you've never done it before or do it all the time, this class is for you. Go to every class for extra points and practice, and never try to wing your speeches! He grades on improvement but won't let lack of effort slide, so practice for at least a little bit. Overall, I wish there was a series to this public speaking class because it's so useful, no matter what major you are!

This is my favorite class that I have taken at UCLA. To anyone that needs to take Communications 1, I would 100% recommend Professor Hurwitz. He is what makes this class as great as it is. For reference I am a STEM major and took this class for a Pre Health requirement. His prompts make it so easy to present on.