The Sandwich Approach

As a member of Toastmaster, a Public Speaking organization, I have “stolen” some ideas from their model and implemented them into my classroom. One thing I use is the sandwich approach. What is the sandwich approach?

When I grade a speech, I give the student a critique of the speech. The sandwich approach says first you tell a speaker something positive about a speech. No matter how good, or how bad a speech, there is always something positive that can be said. Next, you offer a suggestion for improvement. No matter how good, or how bad a speech, there is always something that can be improved. To state otherwise implies it is possible for a speaker to give a “perfect” speech. While speech can be excellent, engaging, exciting and do exactly what it is supposed to, it is impossible (at least in my mind) for a speech to be perfect. By making a suggestion, you are helping to make the individual a better speaker. Then, you always finish with a positive comment.

By using this approach, first it helps the speaker know what s/he did well. That is important as it allows a speaker to strengthen the positives. It also makes a speaker feel good about having spoken and makes them more willing to hear a suggestion. The suggestion helps the speaker improve on a weakness and finishing with a positive should leave a speaker feeling good about having spoken, and speaking is not easy for anyone to do publically.

Since I grade the speeches, I am a little more limited in how I do this, but I manage. My evaluation forms have three parts. The first part is called, “Comments”. This is a three paragraph part that follows the sandwich approach formula. The second part is called “Organization”. This part focus on the introduction, body and conclusion. This includes the research that was done and the information that was covered and researched. The last part is called “Delivery” and it focuses on how the speech was presented including gestures, vocal variety and vocal pauses. The second and third parts of the critique do not necessarily use the sandwich approach, however, I always try to make the last comment in the delivery section a positive comment. This way, not only is the opening section in sandwich form, the entire critique is, in the sense that the first thing the individual reads is a positive comment under comments, then there are comments made both about things done well and things that can use improvement but the last thing the speaker reads is another positive.

I have seen individuals take a critique, look at the grade, show disappointment but not read the comments that explain why I gave them that grade. One speaker even told me, “I never read the comments”. So, why do this? I recently learned the answer.

Since the summer is slow, I took a part time job working on the phones conducting phone surveys (not selling anything). I’ve don’t this before but this is the first time in quite some time and it is a new company for me. We get feedback, e-mailed to us, on the surveys we complete, if there are changes, or problems that have to be corrected. I have gotten a few back and, some of the changes are minimal. For instance, I capitalize the letter “Q” before the question number if I am recording a comment. The “Q” is supposed to be lowercase.

First, this is something that someone could simply tell me and I would make the change. Second, nowhere on the critique does it say ANYTHING positive about the work that was done. Lastly, not only does it not say anything positive but under the overall “Quality Assurance” section, it says “Needs Improvement,” for simply needing to change something to lowercase. After getting a few of these back from the first day I worked there, I simply started tuning out. I made the change but these “Evaluations” mean nothing to me as it is a simple, stupid little thing and there was no praise what so ever.

This taught me that, while many may not read the comments, for the few who do, for the people who are like me, it makes all the difference in the world and is important. I will continue to evaluate using my method.

Carol Burnett Said It Best

I’m so glad we had this time together,
Just to have a laugh or sing a song
Seems we just get started and before you know it
Comes the time we have to say ‘So Long’.

Some of you might remember this signoff song that Carol Burnett sang at the end of The Carol Burnett Show. Interesting that I had this song running through my head this past Thursday. That was the last day of the summer class I was teaching. Since it was just a five week, it seemed like we had just got started and now it was time to say ‘so long’.

The truth is, the course was not as difficult of exhausting as I thought it would be. Sure, every Thursday was for speeches. It was a lot of things crammed into one day, into one session (as we had to do more than just speeches on Thursday), into five weeks but I managed.

More importantly, the course seemed to work for the students. I asked the students for feedback at the end of the semester. I let them know this was the first time I was teaching a summer class and I wanted and needed their feedback to see if I needed to make any changes. There were minor suggestions and the students seemed to disagree with each other. What they all seemed to agree on was the five weeks moved quicker than they thought it would and that they enjoyed the class (always nice to hear).

I still like it better when it is a 15 week course, but all things considered, it went well and, if they are going to offer it and pay someone to teach it, I am happy to be the one teaching the course. And, the early returns seem to indicate they will be offering two sessions of Public Speaking next summer and they want me to teach one of those sections.

A Surcharge! For What?

I have figured out a new way to make more money for teaching my classes. I am going to charge each student a surcharge for calculating his/her grade. I know that sounds crazy but I think it will work.

“Aren’t the students already paying to take your class,” you ask.

“Doesn’t the college pay you to teach that class and isn’t grading part of the responsibilities of teaching the class,” you ask.

“Isn’t that unethical,” you say.

The answer to all those questions, including the last one, is, “Yes!”

So, how am I going to get away with it? I still think it is not going to be too difficult. I am actually stealing the idea from local governments.

I confess, recently I got a ticket for speeding (a ticket I am fighting). Nowhere on the ticket does it say what the fine is. When I went to court to issue my, “Not Guilty,” plea, I found out that if I plead guilty, the judge decides how much the fine should be.

This, in and of itself, is wrong. Imagine if I did not let my students know how much each assignment counted when determining their final grades. Imagine if I did not weigh each assignment the same for each student. The students would be up in arms, someone would probably go to the department to complain and I would probably get a severe talking to, at best. And I would deserve it, or worse. Yet, this is exactly what the justice system is doing. It is no longer pay X amount for speeding and Y amount for ever mile over the speed limit you were going (or something like that). The justice can determine the amount. S/he may have a set formula to determine this but the justice does not have to, it is up to his or her discretion.

While I have a problem with this, this is not even my biggest objection to the whole process. Recently my wife was in court on another matter. She got her fine reduced, I believe to $50. Not bad! Then she told me that there was a $75 surcharge she had to pay and this surcharge was assessed on everyone (she knew this because she spent a bit of time in the court waiting for her case to be called, so she heard a number of cases before hers and each person, in addition to the fine, needed to pay this $75 surcharge.

A surcharge? A SURCHARGE? For what? For the right to pay a fine? For the right to show up to court and defend yourself? I don’t question that this happened and I don’t criticize my wife for paying it, after all, she had no choice and she did get her fine reduced. Still, a surcharge? That is absolutely disgusting and as far as I am concerned, dishonest (and from what I have been told, it happens in many municipalities). These individuals should be held accountable. It is clearly just another way to make money, but instead of calling it a fine, they call it something else.

To any government that does something like this, all I can say is, “For shame on you”. Like I said at the beginning, it would be like me charging my students for the right to show up to my class, or for grading them.

I propose we do away with this surcharge and if the local municipality is suffering from the loss of revenue it generates, lets implement a surcharge that all elected officials must pay annually for the right to serve as our officials (maybe $1000). If we need more, lets charge the same surcharge to all people appointed by the elected officials to serve as officials of the municipality.

Again, I am amazed that governments can charge a surcharge for paying a ticket, I am amazed that they actually do this and I am disgusted by the fact that it takes place. It simply has strengthened my resolve to fight my speeding ticket, and to win, so I don’t have to pay this surcharge (should that municipality use this tactic), and I don’t intend on finding out

A Summer Class

It looks like I may well be teaching a Public Speaking course over the summer. I am looking forward to the opportunity to teach this summer, and to make some extra cash this summer. This is a far cry from the days when I looked forward to taking a summer vacation with the family. As a child I had many opportunities to travel with my parents, brother and sister. I hope one day to be able to do that with my wife and son (and maybe dog).

I remember one summer, as a youngster, heading down to Florida and going to Disney World. It was the first time I was there. It was exciting to go on the different rides. This was back in the day when getting Disney World Ticketswas very different. The rides actually had different letters and you paid for a certain number of “A” tickets and “B” tickets, etc. I believe it went up to “E” tickets and those were used for such rides as “It’s a Small World After All” and “Pirates of the Caribbean”.

I remember the family deciding that we would all go on “It’s a Small World After All,” and I was not so thrilled; I was not looking forward to seeing dolls. I remember being on that ride, however, and really enjoying it. I think I enjoyed all of the “E” rides, including “Pirates” and “Huck Finn’s Adventure,” which was really creative. (It’s amazing how much of this trip I remember despite being over 35 years ago).

I did have the opportunity to go back years later. My most recent trip was about ten years ago, shortly after I got married. It was amazing to me how they had changed the park. They keep adding all of the different attractions to go with the park, including Wild Kingdome. These were all fun but somehow, it was the first trip to Orlando that was most enjoyable and memorable.

So, if you are looking for something to do this summer, your first option should be talking a class with me, so I can make sure I have the necessary enrollment. If you are unable to do that, then you should consider heading to Disney and enjoying a vacation. And, don’t forget, orlandofuntickets.com has the best deals to get you into all of the Disney Parks in Orlando, FL. Use the time to relax and come back refreshed so when the new semester starts, you can focus and do well.

Speaking In An Electronic Age

Technology changes everything. This is often a good thing and some changes do not come fast enough. Still, other changes will make you scratch your head and wonder. In this day of competitive education, of Community Colleges not just looking to cater to a select group of people (all colleges as well), the colleges are looking to teach more and more classes online. Where I teach (and I am sure other instructions as well), the goal is to be able to allow students to obtain a degree without ever having to step foot onto the campus.

This means more and more institutions are looking at teaching Public Speaking on-line as this is a required class for many disciplines. Teaching Public Speaking on-line seems a little odd. How do you judge certain criteria, even if you have the person on a video in front of you? Do you really get a full appreciation for body language and gestures? It seems that a lot would get lost.

On the other hand, in this day and age, when presentations and done via the web, when we have e-conferencing and webinars, there clearly is a place for an on-line Public Speaking course. Teaching people how to handle the technical aspect, having people feel comfortable when they are on a screen, is helpful and important.

The bottom line is, this is going to become a reality, regardless of my feelings. As a result, I am hopeful that I will be able to teach some of these classes. It would cut down on travel time, teach me a new skill and get me an extra class or two (hopefully) to teach.

Try To Follow Instructions

I am always amazed at students who choose not to listen to instruction given to them by their instructors. I require my students to take a speech they have heard during the semester and critique it. I tell them it can be any speech except one of their own. I also tell them I don’t want them using a speech from a movie. My thinking has to do with the fact, when the speech is critiqued, I want it to be based on the actual events and the speaker’s ability, not on the way some movie director wants it to come across.

Despite my instructions, most of the time, some student hands in a critique of a speech from a movie. This semester was no different. The only difference was, the student spent the first two paragraphs explaining why he did this and why he felt this speech qualified.

I think this approach is foolish. If he was right, let him talk with me after class, before the paper is due. Let him explain why he feels this way and let him let me respond. If he is wrong, then he is going to get a poor grade on the project because he did not complete the assignment according to my recommendations. Either way, he is not in good shape.

Students, I have a helpful hint for you; when you are given a set of instructions, usually it means the instructor wants you to follow them.

Don't Say Too Much

We live in a society where we are all too quick to criticize things we do and point out their inadequacies. Sometimes this can really serve to do a disservice to the critical individual. For instance, a recent event proved to me that sometimes students can really say TOO MUCH!
A student recently completed a speech and I thought he did a nice job. Upon finishing the speech, it was obvious the student was disappointed and felt he did a poor job. But, the student did not simply let the body language send that message, he verbally expressed that thought as well. Upon completing the assignment, the student told me, in front of the rest of the class, that he was disappointed with that performance. He went on to point out all the things he felt he did wrong. Said student sent me an e-mail a few days later asking a question on a different topic and again apologized for delivering such a poor speech.

Initially, I thought the speech was within the A-/B+ range but the student’s comments have made me question my thinking. Beyond that, I have a dilemma. If I give the student such a high grade when he feels it was a poor speech, while the student maybe pleased, it will have him questioning by entire ability to grade speeches and to assess them.

Folks, if you are working on a school assignment, you don’t have to go out of your way to praise the job if you feel that it was not worthy of a good grade (or even if you feel it was). On the other hand, don’t be overly critical of the assignment either. At the very least it gives the teacher permission to feel comfortable, even good, about giving you a low(er) grade. At the worst, it can truly convince the teacher to give you a lower grade than s/he had initially planned.