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SPCOM 223Public Speaking

Faculty
Arts
Last listed
Spring 2023

No longer offered. It was in Waterloo’s course catalog since at least Winter 2020 (as far back as Open Data goes) to Spring 2023 and last ran in Spring 2023. It isn’t in the 2024–25 or later calendars.

When it ran

  1. W20
  2. S20
  3. F20
  4. W21
  5. S21
  6. F21
  7. W22
  8. S22
  9. F22
  10. W23
  11. S23

Ran in 11 terms, Winter 2020 to Spring 2023.

Theory and practice of public speaking. A workshop course involving design and delivery of various kinds of speeches, and the development of organizational, vocal, listening, and critical skills. Students will be videotaped. [Note: Must attend first class. May be subject to priority enrolment.]

Reviewed on UW Flow

72% liked it74% easy66% useful

From 629 ratings and 154 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Ton of work. I took all three advanced math/cs courses in my 1A term and had more work from this course than my advanced courses. Average 2 to three assignments in one week. I took this course to avoid writing assignments and ended up with more writing assignments than my peers who didn't take this course. Would not recommend unless you want to not have time on other assignments.
    Edits:
    No point of putting time into the written components, which are just generic SJW readings and essay questions. I got the exact same feedback/score distribution with two assignments, one of which I spent 30 minutes on and the other I spend 3 hours on.

    Sep 2021 · didn’t like it · 5 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • SPCOM 223 with Jeff Stacey is the best course I have taken and it has no assignments no work nothing.
    The work was super easy and I felt the course was really engaging. Me and my groupmates had a lot of fun as we made speeches and held discussions for analysis. We enjoyed the scarce readings and it helped us relax from the tiring math and CS courses. Best elective i have taken and would recommend to everyone.
    100% liked 100% easy

    Dec 2021 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • amazing course - opened my third eye and by third eye, I mean my asshole with how much it fucked with me

    Dec 2021 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The course is contradictory. We learn about translingualism (the idea that all versions/accents/etc of English are valid), yet we are marked on how grammatically correct our writing is and how clear our speaking is. We watched a TED Talk on why English requirements for university students is a barrier, yet SPCOM 223 is essentially an English requirement course. We are expected to use the course readings in our assignments, yet when I didn't use them, I got a higher mark lol.

    Nov 2021 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I was very scared of public speaking before I took this course, but this course gave me the chance to practice public speaking in front of a very friendly and positive audience (of 30 or so students). The best way to be a better public speaker and get over the fear is to actually do it. I definitely feel more comfortable in front of a public audience now. The grading was very subjective and I would say unfair - for one speech we had to work in groups of 4 or 5 and everyone would get the same grade, regardless of clear differences in effort and results between group members. It is hard to get a grade below 75, but extremely difficult if not impossible to get a 90+ (at least with my prof).

    Apr 2017 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

456 posts and comments in 286 threads mention SPCOM 223, December 2011 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Spring 2024

Easiest SPCOM/COMMST class? 3 points, 2 comments

“Need an easy 90+ one 🙏 still willing to put in the effort”

u/createthepenguins: “I took SPCOM223 and busted my ass and only got high 80, you have to be either charismatic and blonde haired and blue eyed to get a 90+ or genuinely a great public speaker. Overall very easy though just 3 major speeches and attendance mark.”

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First-year math courses selection 1 point, 8 comments

“I was not sure how to select courses for my first term, and I missed all the webinars because I was working all summer. …”

u/Disastrous_Quail9511: “… So for now, you should stick with cs135, math135 and math137 (since you’re still a math student) and electives or communications course like spcom 100/223, engl109 etc Just a heads up, you’ll probably need a 80-90% or higher to get a transfer from math to cs, which is, as you …”

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Course Load Opinions with Full-TIme Job 1 point, 2 comments

u/Even_Valuable_5014: “I'm planning on taking CS 445, SPCOM 223 or SPCOM 100 and an bird online elective like CLAS 104. I'll be working full-time as a dev (remote). Is this doable??”

u/Only-Software1631: “You are only allowed to take a max of 2 courses during a co-op term (excluding PD). SPCOM 223 is easy except for the fact that attendance was mandatory (when I took it) so you would have to make sure it fit into your work schedule.”

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ENGL 109, SPCOM 223, or ENGL 119? 2 points, 3 comments

u/Ok-Cloud-1205: “which course is the easiest for a high avg? i need to take one of these first year and the other in second, so which is better to take first/second considering workload for CFM majors. would engl 119 look better to employers in first year?”

u/kapgirl: “Not sure where you got the list, but FYI all SPCOM courses were changed to COMMST a few years ago. So you’ll see COMMST 223 instead of SPCOM 223.”

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Fall 2023

improve my English 1 point, 1 comment

“as a new comer at uwaterloo, what can i do to improve my English both in writing and in talking?”

u/regsergsergserg: “Take SPCOM 223, hands down one of the best courses for learning how to speak in front of an audience in a safe space. Really good for learning how to structure ideas in writing too.”

u/regsergsergserg: “… The course code for enrollment is COMMST 223, previously it was SPCOM 223 but they're the same thing.”

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Spring 2023

which is the easiest english course? 4 points, 4 comments

“i’m in the DD math and bba program at waterloo and laurier, I need to register for a english course, which is the easiest? …”

u/jadedwolf12: “I'm not great at public speaking, but I found SPCOM 223 (which is now renamed to COMMST 223 from the looks of it) pretty fun and easy - just a few short presentations over the term. It felt like a high school class and I think it's a nice opportunity to meet people :)”

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Questions from a first year 5 points, 4 comments

“Hello! I'll be starting Waterloo this fall as an honours math student, could you guys please recommend some bird courses for first year? Along with which communication courses I should take? …”

u/holdupbruhchill: “for the communication course, i recommend spcom 223, they might have changed the course code now to commst 223 i believe but it’s the public speaking one, just show up and give enough effort and u will pass”

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