This is a common misconception that emanates from the 20th century transformation of speech education into the “basic public speaking course” with the advent of disciplinary curricula and the marginalization of general education.  The <”History of Speech at Denison”> page on this site describes how speech here at one time was integral to general education at every level. 

The beauty of an across-the-divisions model--what we now have--is that speech education can express the exceptional range of competencies that is its birthright.  We shouldn’t make the mistake of reducing a core competence to a rudimentary skill.  Orality involves everything that makes speech one of the most distinctive and challenging attributes of being human. 

Certainly giving speeches is a valuable skill, but it is not equivalent to oral competence.  To loosen up our sense of speech competence, let’s list some skills that might be taught for 1.) deliberative discourse in group communication, or 2.)  interpersonal communication.

GROUP DELIBERATION

--developing group climate

--assuming roles and task structure

--conflict resolution

--setting and achieving goals

--negotiating cultural styles in conflict

--preventing groupthink

These are only examples of a few elements of communication that can be cultivated in non-formal speech settings.  Even more important:  Skill-sets are not the only dimensions of speech that extend oral competence beyond public speaking.  i For instance, an article by <Robert Weiss> describes how the teaching of oral competence as debate can nurture the development of democratic citizenship, and in a similar vein how it can developed the capacity for <judgment>  [pdf links].  i For a peek into broader applications of speech education for the liberal arts, see the <“Theory and Practice”> page on this site.