Oral Communication Program

"If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud." —Emile Zola

Our Mission

The Oral Communication Program reflects the enduring relevance of the communication arts at Stanford. At the heart of our mission is the belief that when we enhance our students’ oral communication skills, we are teaching more than public speaking. We are teaching listening skills, and more broadly, we are helping our students to understand the relationship between their own communication choices and actions, the processes of inquiry, and their learning. We hold as an elemental principle that “students learn to speak so that they can speak to learn”; that is, we see a demonstrable correlation between improved speaking skills and enhanced learning outcomes.

Our Approach

In our efforts to develop a new and stimulating pedagogy of "public speaking," we aspire to expand the traditional definition of our subject by drawing upon ancient rhetoric, linguistics, performance, and psychology to broaden the scope of our approach. Among other things, learning to become more articulate involves learning to listen more intently, to analyze more cogently, and to trust one's own voice more deeply. To this end, we have committed ourselves to honoring the power of the spoken word and to fostering an awareness of the seasoned and fundamental place of oral expression in a liberal education.

What We Offer

The Program provides a wide-array of speech-enhancing opportunities for students--including credit-bearing courses--at every stage of their Stanford experience. From gateway seminars such as PWR 1 and PWR 2, to Honors colloquia and other capstone projects, we tailor our oral communication instruction to support students as their developing intellectual sophistication requires new strategies for synthesizing information and articulating complex ideas to both expert and lay audiences. In keeping with the Oral Communication Program’s original mission to integrate speech instruction across the disciplines, we also collaborate with faculty who want to integrate an oral communication component into their course curriculum. The Oral Communication Program’s affiliation with the Hume Center for Writing and Speaking is another key partnership, creating new possibilities for bringing together writing, speaking, digital media, and storytelling. Both undergraduate and graduate students can consult with trained Oral Communication Tutors (OCTs) at the Center to hone an oral presentation, practice interview skills, refine an elevator pitch, or even develop a TED Talk.

Pictured above: Sreya Guha, a senior majoring in symbolic systems, speaking at the 131st Opening Convocation Ceremony. Photo by Andrew Brodhead.