Who we are

The Speaking Center increases the personal, professional and civic impact of the Wake Forest community by enhancing the  speaking and listening skills of all community members. The Center is helping students prepare for course related oral presentations, as well as for speaking engagements outside the classroom This may include career fairs, internship and job interviews, poster sessions, conference presentations, and networking events. Even as electronic communication grows, being able to speak eloquently and effectively in a clear, concise, and audience-centered manner remains relevant.

The current purpose of the pilot Speaking Center is primarily to provide speech preparation assistance to students in the public speaking course (COM 110), commonly referred to as the basic course in communication pedagogy.

Our Mission is improve the speaking and listening skills of the Wake Forest community through group and individual training across the curriculum, peer consultations and feedback, community partnerships in speaking and listening initiatives, and supporting research.

Management

Faculty Coordinator
Rowena "Rowie" Kirby-Straker

Dr. Rowie teaches public speaking and listening courses and supervises the Wake Speaks Speaking Center. Before coming to Wake, she served as the Director of the Oral Communication Center (OCC) at the University of Maryland College Park for four years. Dr. Rowie has taught public speaking for more than 10 years and enjoys it immensely. She believes that public speaking is one of the most important courses that students can take because of its potential to influence every aspect of life, including civic, academic, personal, and professional. She is adamant that listening be taught alongside speaking because when speakers actively listen with their eyes, ears, and hearts, they are better able to meet the needs of their audience.

Graduate coordinator​
Tajha "Taj" Na'il

Tajha is a second-year Master’s student in the Department of Communication. She was born and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and moved to Winston-Salem in 2016 to pursue her BA in Mass Communications with a Chinese minor at WSSU. Her research interests are in intercultural communication, international communication, and how face concerns play a role in miscommunication. She is currently a Teaching Assistant for Public Speaking and enjoys helping her students conquer speaking anxiety and develop confidence to speak to audiences of all magnitudes. She believes that public speaking is very important and take time and much practice to improve. In her free time, she enjoys shopping, skating, traveling, and eating food from different cultures. She is looking forward to helping students and preparing them to be the best public speakers!

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Wake Speaks Speaking Center

Copyright 2016