Engineer SPEAK

In partnership with the Grainger College of Engineering, the Speakers Workshop offers assistance to Engineering students, faculty, and staff.

Skills for Presenting Engineering and Applied Knowledge (SPEAK) is a cross-college collaboration between faculty and students in the Department of Communication and the Grainger College of Engineering to bring the insight and expertise of world-class researchers and teachers in Communication to students in engineering at the most timely moment. Presentation and communication skills can propel an engineer from being technically excellent to being a thought leader in the field. Students involved in project-based and project-oriented classes across the Grainger College of Engineering participate in SPEAK through classroom visits, workshops, and feedback sessions.

During workshops, a communication instructor attends a scheduled class time to present on best practices for working in groups, structuring a presentation, delivering a presentation, or other communication topics relevant to the course content. In feedback sessions, communication instructors and Speakers Workshop peer-consultants run clinics with the engineering students to review example slides from the engineering students’ own presentations and provide critical feedback on their presentation skills. Peer review and group discussions in workshops provide an opportunity for students to learn while helping others. Overall, SPEAK has proven highly effective in quantifiably improving student outcomes. Click on this article to learn more about Engineer SPEAK’s history.

Services Offered

Services Offered

Classroom Visits

10-minute introduction to Speakers Workshop and Engineer SPEAK.

Workshops

50-minute interactive presentation on public speaking basics such as organization, delivery, giving group presentations, using visual aids, and coping with communication apprehension.

Feedback Sessions

Full-class feedback session with multiple Speakers Workshop peer-consultants who work with Engineering students to practice presentations and provide feedback.

For Engineering Faculty

Click here if you would like to schedule a class visit, workshop, or if you have a request for any other resources.

For Engineering Students

Click here if you would like to schedule an individual or small group appointment with a peer-consultant.

Our Alums! Coming soon.

Dr. Grace Giorgio

Teaching Professor
Department of Communication
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Dr. Blake Johnson

Teaching Associate Professor
Mechanical Science and Engineering
Grainger College of Engineering

Speakers Workshop
Armory 350
505 E. Armory Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: speakersworkshop@illinois.edu