Expressive Communication Center

Strengthen your ability to deliver dynamic public presentations confidently, clearly, and eloquently at the Expressive Communication Center—skills that give you an advantage on the job and throughout your life. 

Need help with your presentation?

We're happy to help. Stop in during drop-in hours, schedule an in-person or virtual meeting, or join in a small group appointments. The ECC offers professional mentoring, practice opportunities, and resources to help you maximize your presentation skills.

Appointments and Drop-In Sessions

Appointments — Virtual, In Person, One-to-One, and Small Group Options:

  • In-person appointments: Arrive at Wallace Library 05-1640 at your scheduled appointment time.
     
  • Virtual individual appointments: To join a virtual appointment, shortly before your appointment time, log in and click on your appointment in the scheduling system, and then select the red 'start or join online consultation' link.
     
  • Small group appointments: In-person small group appointments will take place in Wallace Library 05-1640. Small groups may also schedule virtual appointments. To do this, have one group member make the appointment. On the appointment intake form, they must select the "group" option and provide the emails of the other group members. A Zoom meeting join link will be emailed to the group members.

Drop-In Sessions: 

We recommend that students make appointments, but we do take drop-in appointments on a first-come, first-served basis. Each available drop-in slot opens fifteen minutes before its start and remains open until it fills or the time passes. This allows you to make appointments as you arrive or when you're ready to start your meeting.

*If you require interpreting services, please make interpreting requests through Access Services.

Learn from the Best

Industry workforce reports, university alumni surveys, and academic studies have long stressed the importance of strong communication abilities in order for all college graduates to excel. Research consistently shows that communication apprehension and hesitancy to communicate undermine academic and professional performance. Better communicators are better students: more articulate, more confident students have higher scores on graduate entrance exams, higher GPAs, more positive attitudes toward education, and better college retention rates.

At the ECC, we use a consulting-training model and an engaged active learning approach where students receive training, practice, and get ongoing feedback from expert tutors:

  • Communication faculty and trained tutors who help students prepare and rehearse for presentations and other oral communication activities.
  • Expert communication faculty who work one-on-one with course instructors from all disciplines.

These activities provide real and lasting benefits to students in oral, interpersonal, group, and visual communication competency improvement. 

Meet Our Consultants

The Expressive Communication Center is staffed by undergraduate and graduate students from various majors across RIT. Consultants are trained to work with students from all backgrounds, with some able to assist in languages other than English, including ASL.

Please review the profiles below to identify the consultant best suited to help you as you prepare your presentation.

Myren Bobryk-Ozaki is a fourth-year communication major with three minors in business administration; advertising and PR; and HR management. They are involved on campus in various EBoard positions, organizations, and departments. They are passionate about creating safe spaces on campus and contributing to the community around them. If you are looking to build a fantastic and captivating speech or presentation from the ground up in a safe space, be sure to make an appointment with Myren.

Adrian Burgos is a fourth-year computer science major with a minor in communication. He is a mentor and the Events Chair of the Computing Organization for Multicultural Students, as well as a member of No Voice Zone. During high school, he won the Chairman’s Award for his presentation at a FIRST Robotics competition, and has now gone on to mentor high school students on Rochester’s city-wide FIRST Robotics Team with both programming and presenting. If you need help outlining, writing, or practicing your speeches, book an appointment with Adrian.

Paula de Cárdenas is a fourth-year chemical engineering student minoring in communication. Having been raised in Puerto Rico, she communicates fluently in English and Spanish. Outside of the ECC, you would find her drinking a coffee, at the gym, or having a good laugh with her friends. When it comes to speeches and essays, her strengths include brainstorming ideas, as well as structuring and organizing the outlines. If you book with Paula, you are bound to have a good, productive time.

Andres Ceinos is a fourth-year software engineering student. Being from Puerto Rico, he is fluent in both Spanish and English. He enjoys helping others with problem-solving and brainstorming exercises. He usually spends his time at the gym, doing homework, and mentoring at the Society of Software Engineers. He loves to hear other people’s speeches and helping them improve their delivery. Book with him to get rid of that presentation anxiety.

Elena Desai is a third-year ASL-English Interpretation major and communication minor, and she is able to take appointments in English or ASL. In her free time, she loves being a member of RIT’s Vis Viva Dance program and Deaf Volleyball Association. She also enjoys hanging out with friends and getting some exercise by paddle boarding, kayaking, hiking, or hitting the gym. She is looking forward to working with you on brainstorming topics, building a strong outline, and practicing delivery. Work with Elena, and she will give you a kind, constructive critique and make sure your speech is a good balance between natural and rehearsed.

Marie Fraser is a fourth-year physician assistant BS/MS student with a minor in psychology. She likes competitive sports (including volleyball and racquet sports), yoga, card games, and baking. If you want assistance on how to deal with public speaking anxiety, book an appointment with Marie.

Sam Hebbar is a fifth-year student majoring in biomedical engineering, with a minor in mechanical engineering. They enjoy hiking, traveling, board games, and making or consuming basically any form of art. If you're looking for a second pair of eyes on anything you're working on, Sam's the person you're looking for.

Kyle James is a fifth-year game design and development BS/MS major with a minor in exercise science and immersion in communication. He is an Interactive Games and Media (IGM) Ambassador and Graduate Assistant for IGM. In addition, he enjoys going to the gym, playing video games, and traveling. If you need assistance writing your speeches, be sure to schedule an appointment with Kyle!

Kora Lovdahl is a third-year computing security BS/MS student with minors in psychology and quantum information science and technology from Southeastern Connecticut. Kora currently a RA in Res Hall B for the second year in a row, living her best life in the shoebox dorm. She discovered her love for public speaking in high school and won the Story Slam at Imagine RIT 2023. One of her passions is lacrosse; Kora has played for 13 years and is currently captain of the women's club lacrosse team on campus. She also love to knit, crochet, paint, garden, woodwork, and generally do anything with her hands. If you need support on your upcoming projects and presentations, come visit Kora in the ECC!

Mikayla MacIntyre is a fourth-year applied statistics and data analytics BS/MS student with minors in communication and ecology and evolutionary biology. Having discovered her love of public speaking, she works as both a consultant and strategic communication specialist at the ECC and is determined to show others that it isn’t something to be scared of. Mikayla enjoys helping others create passionate and interesting speeches through positive feedback. To make sure your next speech is the best it can be, visit Mikayla today.

Darrin “DJ” Majocha is pursuing his master’s in communication at RIT. He graduated with a bachelor’s in communication with a dual minor in business administration and ASL and deaf cultural studies. He is a child of a deaf adult (CODA) and communicates fluently in English and American Sign Language. DJ is a graduate resident advisor with the Center for Residence Life on campus whose hobbies include moderating Twitch/Discord communities, practicing photography, listening to music, playing video games, and ice skating! If you need support on your upcoming projects and/or presentations, see DJ at the ECC.

Kaatje Mayer is a fourth-year student majoring in communication here. "I love working at the ECC to pieces, and I enjoy every moment I get to work with my fellow students on their speeches and presentations," she said. "I look forward to our appointment together!"

Amasha (Ray) McDonald is a fourth-year communication major, with a minor in HR management. In her first year, she earned the title “Rookie of the Year” in the School of Communication for her outstanding academic achievements, which have followed her throughout her time at RIT. Ray has a natural passion for speaking and writing. She was honored to be asked to share her public speaking class speech at the Martin Luther King Legacy Program, and won the Story Slam contest at Imagine RIT 2022. She is skilled at helping you have a strong and confident delivery, as well as finding and championing your creative and unique voice. With Ray, you are bound to get an A.

Carrie Rader is a third-year industrial engineering student minoring in communication. She just finished her first co-op at Inficon in Syracuse, NY, and enjoys creative writing and crocheting in her free time. Carrie’s strengths include understanding the difficulties of presenting and narrowing down what to speak about. If you need help working through pre-speech anxiety and selecting speech topics, book your next appointment with Carrie!

Hridiza Roy is a third-year student, double majoring in computer science and the School of Individualized Study with a concentration in computer graphics. Her hobbies include writing, dancing, and singing. Hridiza is also the winner of the Fall 2021 RIT Public Speaking Contest. Hridiza is passionate about discovering people’s interests and helping them come up with a creative topic that fits the theme and their interests. Her strengths include technical speeches for a non-technical audience, and cultivating non-traditional perspectives. If you want to create a unique and passionate speech, book your next appointment with Hridiza!

For Students

At the Expressive Communication Center, students meet with peer consultants for help with all phases of presentation preparation and delivery, including but not limited to:

So you have to give a speech — now what? Deciding what you want to talk about is the first step. Our peer consultants are trained to help you decide on an idea that you’re passionate about and that will speak to a larger audience. Ultimately, we want to help you find your voice! A presentation is always better when you care what you’re talking about, so we’re here to help narrow down that focus.

Preparing an outline can be a daunting aspect of a presentation, but it’s something we can help you embrace! Our goal is to help you design an outline for any kind of presentation or speech that works best for your speaking style. You’ll likely end up with two different outlines — one for organizing the speech, and the second for delivery purposes. We want to find the method that works best for you!

Oftentimes, it’s helpful to back up what you’re saying with a visual aid — we can help with that! The goal is to create something that supports what you’re talking about without distracting your audience. From the content to the color scheme, our peer consultants will help you create material that strengthens your topic

To some, the delivery is the most exciting step of a presentation, but to others, it's the scariest. No matter your comfort level, we’re here to help. Our peer consultants will look at every aspect of the deliverable: your tone, your speed, your movements, everything! We know that it’s tempting to just “wing” a presentation, but it can be really helpful to practice ahead of time. We provide a judgement-free zone to help you get your point across in the best way possible.

We fully understand how nerve wracking it can be to speak in front of your peers and professors, but we also know how rewarding it can be! We want to work with you through every step of the process. Even if you already have your presentation written, the next step is to make you comfortable speaking. The ultimate goal is to make you confident.

For Faculty

Faculty from any discipline may request customized oral communication support for their courses. If you include speaking assignments in your courses—such as speeches, presentations, group presentations, debates, discussions, and oral exams—the ECC director is available to work with you on devising those assignments and their associated grading.

Faculty can require or recommend that students visit the ECC, either for a specific assignment, or for general support.

Our downloadable guide, "Providing Oral Presentation Support to Students," offers practical guidance for accessing the services of the Expressive Communication Center and supporting students in the development of presentation skills. Download the pdf guide now. >

For questions related to writing the ECC into grants or incorporating the ECC into research, please contact Dr. Kelly Martin.

Resources

Here you will find additional resources for the Expressive Communication Center, such as examples of great communication, getting the most out of your appointment with the ECC, steps in the speechmaking process, and managing speaking anxiety.

Rubrics: 

Upcoming Events

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