Dr. Dee was one of the most influential teachers I've had in my four years at UCLA. I understand that he's the type of person where you either love him or you hate him, but there's no denying he cares for his students. He is very good at building lasting relationships with his students and is the type of professor who would write a letter of recommendation in a heartbeat. If you go to class and pay attention, you'll easily get a B+/B. If you go to his office hours and get him to critique your speech before you present, you'll get an A in the class.

The most important thing about this class is to get your speech critiqued by him before you present. If you have good delivery and get the critique, it's a guaranteed A (so long as you don't screw up the final essay).

The most important thing about this class is to get your speech critiqued by him before you present. If you have good delivery and get the critique, it's a guaranteed A (so long as you don't screw up the final essay).

I can't say I learned much from this professor. The class consists of Bridgewater briefly talking about completely random events or people, and then the rest of the class time is spent listening to your classmates' speeches or making your own. He's a really nice guy, very accepting of coming in late, missing class if you're sick, handing in homework late if you have a reason etc... but it's just not a class where you're going to feel enlightened in any way. It's good for practicing talking in front of people which is useful in life I suppose. I found this class pretty easy, the workload was a piece of cake, so I would recommend it if you're looking for a laid back class.

Dr. Dee was my favorite professor of this quarter. I came into this class expecting to learn about public speaking, and while I did, I learned so much more. Professors way of running the class allows you to learn about current cultural topics from what he chooses to discuss as well as learning a lot from each student giving their speech. Like others said, the best way to ensure and A is to go into his office hours before your speech. Talk it through with him, and include what he had to say and he'll love it for sure. The class is a pretty easy A. While signing up for the class, it may say that you have a finals period, but there is no final, just a 7 page paper due then. Great class and I would recommend it for anyone.

I understand that Dr. Dee may rub some people the wrong way, but I thoroughly enjoyed his class. I think that his style of teaching was effective because it was conversational- so much so that I don't think students realized they were learning something from it. I think that he incorporates relevant topics into his discussion, and subsequently, I learned a lot about public speaking. The class forces students to get to know each other, which can be uncomfortable, but Dr. Dee eases you into it. The book for the class is unnecessary, but going to office hours is a must! I'm pretty sure that attending office hours is the key to a good grade. They might seem arbitrary or like a waste of time, but it helps you get to know Dr. Dee, as well as other students in the class, which I believe Dr. Dee greatly values. You're going to have to work hard for your A, but it's definitely possible.

The only thing I learned from this class is that it is actually possible for a teacher to "teach" 10 weeks of complete bullshit.

Take this class knowing that you will not earn your grade, you will be given one.

Despite the reviews below, I am going to paint a different picture for those that are looking to learn for beyond a grade. Dr. Dee is an amazingly smart man that teaches you a skill that extends far beyond the letter grade that you receive in the class and will apply towards the rest of your life. Learning presentation skills in an open class setting at UCLA is quite the opportunity and I think that everyone should take advantage of this course as well as Dr. Dee. He has a private practice in Los Angeles where he is paid to consult individuals and he is available to help students a long the way. You get to know every member of the class extremely well as everyone must give their own speeches. These are not analytical speeches based on facts, they're speeches based on your life and you're own experiences so they really are not that hard with a little practice. By the end of the class you will look at presentations as a breeze and this class has benefited me in many upper division courses that I have taken at UCLA and I know will be useful skills once I have graduated... keep an open mind and check him out

Dr. Dee is really available to students, but if you don't do amazing speeches from the beginning you'll end up with a B. Regardless if you have interesting stories or not, the whole class gets B's and there's no way to bring up your grade even with the participation points and 10 page speech critique. He was a nice guy but I'm sure other professors grade more fairly. Most professor would give you the better grade after you've shown improvement in the course, not this professor. It isn't a speech class, it's a public speaking class and he really wants you to just go up there and improvise. It's not boring, you'll just lose motivation really quickly because everyone gets the same grade.

He is HORRIBLE. He does NOT HELP his students at all. You can call him, e-mail him, or go to his office hours. He is so OBNOXIOUSLY POMPOUS. I hope that he gets pink-slipped (because I heard he did before, but they revoked it), but in any case, he is not a good enough professor to be teaching at UCLA!!! He does not care about his students at all, and it shows. He only cares about himself and his phd.