Suggested Activities for Chapter 15

1. Show sample video speeches (include both real-time and prerecorded examples) to students and have them critique the speakers. Ask for specific examples of what the speakers did well and what they did not do well.
2. Ask students to prepare a two- to three-minute presentation on any topic of their choosing. Give them a few minutes to prepare, and then break them down into small groups (if a sufficient number of students have camera phones or other recording technology with them, consider breaking them down into pairs). Have each student deliver his or her speech while another student records it. After each student has recorded a speech, have the group watch them together and provide feedback.
3. Break the class up into four groups: groups A, B, C, and D (make sure each group has access to a computer or other device with Internet access and Skype). Separate the groups into different parts of the classroom, and then have group A place a Skype video call to group B, and group C place a Skype video call to group D. Hand out a list of terms to each group (each list should be different) and inform students that their goal is to give clues to the members of the other group to help them guess what each term is. Have groups A and C select a representative to give clues, then have them establish a “talking head” shot so that only the representative’s heads are showing. Give each team three minutes to see how many terms they can guess. After three minutes, have them switch roles, with groups B and D selecting a representative to give clues about the terms. This time, allow a larger camera shot that incorporates the speaker’s upper body or full body. Give them another three minutes to see how many terms they can guess. At the end of the game, discuss the successes and failures of their real-time communication, and the effects of the different camera shots and the viewers’ ability to see more of the speakers’ nonverbal communication.