Dr. Clariza Ruiz De Castilla is a faculty member in both the Communication Studies and Chicano Studies Departments at California State University, Long Beach.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, educators and students faced many new challenges, and had to experiment with new ideas and techniques for teaching and learning. Our face-to-face classes went online (and the duration of such distance learning varied from school to school). Issues that students and their communities were facing, from financial challenges to health inequalities, were increasingly affecting students’ educations and therefore being more widely discussed. As a result, I decided to incorporate a new type of performance for my public speaking classes: social justice speeches. Such speeches could allow one to “set the stage” for creativity (through new topics), honesty (through building trust with the audience), and purpose. Let me tell you about this new assignment. 

In the Essentials of Public Speaking courses at my college, our public speaking instructors require students to deliver five speeches. The first speech is an introduction speech, followed by a speech on a social justice issue. Then, for the major speeches, they must complete an informative and a persuasive speech on their own with credible sources and PowerPoints. And for the very last speech, students perform a special occasion speech within a group.  

In the past, the second speech I assigned was a broad “ethical” speech, mainly to introduce students to morals and values (that included studying issues that are “good” and “bad,” “right” or “wrong”). I changed this assignment (on “ethics” broadly) to be more precise as a social justice speech. Ethics may vary from person to person; however, social justice is more about fairness in terms of distribution of opportunities and privileges.  

To begin this assignment, I lecture on what social justice means, along with basic terms such as “equity” and “fair treatment.” This is accompanied by a particular TED Talk from 2021 on the topic titled “The Language of Social Justice.” In this TED Talk , Alexandra Campion shared her experience writing an open letter to her college regarding the mistreatment of students of color. She reflected on her approach when addressing this issue and concluded that it was ineffective. In retrospect, she recommended carefully considering your audience when discussing social justice, as well as using common language to connect with them. In addition to this speech, I discuss social justice issues here at CSULB,  such as current tuition hikes and racial profiling experienced by professors on campus. My main concern is for students to understand the requirements of this speech assignment: 1) explain a social justice issue, and 2) either inform or persuade the class on said issue. The latter is done to prepare students for their upcoming major speeches, specifically their informative and persuasive speeches. 

Once I have set the stage on what social justice is and how it relates to our university, I then lecture over Chapters 3 and 6 from Contemporary Public Speaking . In Ch. 3, “Ethics and Credibility,” I point out ethics and values in relation to social justice. Their credibility, or ethos, is also highlighted in this lecture: How can one demonstrate to their audience their qualifications to speak on their topic? Next, with Ch. 6, the process of determining a topic and speech purpose is considered. This is important because, since this second speech assignment is “stage practice” for the major speeches, students must recognize the difference between objectivity and subjectivity (or “to inform” and “to persuade”).  

Discussion of ethics in Chapter 3 involves three components: one’s character and resulting habits, habits that create one’s character, and how one’s character guides one’s habits. By breaking down ethics in this manner, we not only examine the philosophical manner of “values” but also the practicality of it, specifically of how it is based on our regular behavior. For example, during a student presentation on Artificial Intelligence (AI), a proposed “solution” was to seek help from the professor instead of AI. That habit (of visiting office hours or talking with the instructor after class) is what may then lead to the characteristic of not depending on AI for help with school. Furthermore, explaining credibility during one’s speech (such as initial and terminal) allows for students to prepare more thoroughly. They begin to understand that they need to gain the audience’s trust early on during their speech. Furthermore, they also learn that they must maintain such reliability throughout their performance.   

Following my lecture on ethics and credibility, I then discuss how to select a topic along with speech purpose. The concept of “exigence” is very important; this idea explains to students that there is a “pressing need” for them “to speak to a particular audience in a particular context” (p. 112). In other words, students can’t pick an outdated topic (since it will not relate to our class audience). This chapter provides the following questions for students to ask themselves: Why you? Why them? Why now? These basic questions bring much needed brainstorming (and clarity) for organizing such social justice speeches. 

It is in Chapter 6 that the difference between specific and general purposes are also elaborated on. While the former will vary from student to student (since they will all have different topics), the general purpose of “to inform” or “to persuade” is what will guide their tone. Connecting informative speaking to such notions as “objectivity” and “neutrality” helps students understand that they must teach their peers something new. This is opposite to the general purpose, “to persuade”; in that type of speech, “subjectivity” and “opinions” are required.  

After I lecture on these class concepts, students submit three potential topics for their social justice speech. To assist students in their brainstorming here, I include a list of topics (“64 Examples of Social Issues Topics in 2024”); they are allowed to select a topic from this list (as long as they can link it to our public speaking class). In addition to their topics, they must also include their main points, along with the organizational pattern (Chapter 9) based on their central ideas. I then approve topics shortly after that (within 2 days). The last step in preparation for this speech is to have one-on-one consultations. Here, students highlight the main aspects of their speeches, as well as ask questions or raise concerns. By organizing this social justice speech in this manner, I have noticed that students are better prepared for their major speeches, since they are practicing it early in the semester. Also, in all these speeches, I have students provide feedback for a handful of their classmates. Thus, by observing speeches, they obtain a better understanding of what informative and persuasive speaking is, and how they differ.  

In conclusion, social justice speeches serve a three-fold purpose in my public speaking courses: 1) to understand what fairness and equity look like in our current time; 2) to assist in building one’s own credibility; and 3) to prepare students for informative and persuasive thinking. It is thanks to Contemporary Public Speaking that I may explain the philosophical and practical requirements of such a speech. Therefore, while the pandemic is over, we must continue to talk about social justice in our society today and can start with meaningful conversations in our public speaking classrooms.

Ready to explore Contemporary Public Speaking for yourself? Start here: https://seagull.wwnorton.com/conpubspeak2. 

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