FAQ
Why do we all need the Art of Eloquence?
1. Do you only have studies for kids? For Speech and Debate?
No, actually, Art of Eloquence has studies for PreK-Adults and for a wide range of topics from speech and debate to business and leadership, defending the faith, overcoming shyness, resolving conflicts and so much more.
2. How easy is it to use the homeschool studies?
Our homeschool studies are designed to be used by parent/teachers who have little or no training in speech or communication skills. Furthermore, all the prep work is done for you. Each week a new topic is introduced which builds upon the prior week’s material. Parents and teachers can just pick up the book and begin teaching a lesson with virtually no prep time!
3. Why is it important to study communication skills from a Christian perspective?
When I received my degree in Speech Communication from a secular college, I thought I had received a good education. And I did. The Speech Communication department was one of the best in the country at the time. However, when I became a Christian, I discovered that God’s Word was ripe with hundreds of scriptures about how we should communicate with one another. This greatly enhanced my understanding of communication skills.
I have been approached a few times with a contract to provide hundreds of studies for the secular community if I would just “take the God parts out”. The Lord invented communication and the study of communication is greatly enhanced when done from a Biblical perspective. Teaching communication skills without including the Lord is like teaching the about automobiles without including Henry Ford.
Art of Eloquence is Christ-Centered in its approach to speech communication using scripture from the King James Bible as a foundation for each lesson.
4. Why are communication skills especially important for Christians?
The Lord must think communication skills and important issue because there are hundreds and hundreds of scriptures telling us how we should communicate with each other. Not everything is mentioned in the Bible, but something mentioned this many times should be studied, Amen?
The world is becoming more secular every day. It thinks of Christians as intolerant and asks us to be quiet about our faith and our values. It is increasingly difficult for Christians to feel comfortable enough to discuss what they believe, yet the Lord makes it clear we are to share the Good News and be ready to give an answer to those who would question us. More communication skill is required today than ever before in order to be ready to answer in grace.
5. Are all your studies digital?
Yes. All of our products are downloadable. This affords us the opportunity to provide more information, links and resources embedded right into the study making it even easier to use and packed with more information. It also means that there is no waiting for delivery and no shipping charges!
6. How are the e-books delivered? In what format?
After you order, you will be taken to a page with a download link where you can download your PDF eBook. You will also receive an email that will tell you how to download the course if you didn't do so at checkout.
7. I purchased an eBook but I didn’t get the download. What do I do?
If you did not download your course at check out, you will get an email that will tell you how to download your course. Simply follow the directions. Check your spam folder if you didn't receive it. If, for some reason, you don't receive the email, just email us and we will take care of that for you. info@artofeloquence.com
8. Why isn’t there a teacher’s edition or manual for the children’s studies?
There is no need of a teacher’s manual for our courses. Each study is ready to teach just by picking it up and reading along with your child. Communication skills are learned by doing not by memorization of facts and figures. The parent/teacher is provided in many cases with any charts or other grading tools needed, but the improvements are easily seen and measured if you follow the study. We saw no need to increase the cost of our courses by writing a separate manual for the teacher/parent.
9. May I make copies of an Art of Eloquence e-study for each of my children?
Although copyright law does say you may not make copies of works (curricula included), we do allow families to make copies of our e-studies for their own family use. Please do not make copies for other homeschooling families, for co op classes or to scan and put up on the internet. This would be a violation of the copyright laws.
10. If I have a co op class, does each student need to purchase their own eBook at full price or do you have a volume eBook discount?
If you have a large class and would like to receive a volume discount, please email us info@artofeloquence.com for details.
11. What version of the Bible is used by Art of Eloquence studies?
We use the King James Version for all Bible quotes in our Say What You Mean series studies.
12. You have so many studies, where do you recommend starting children?
If your student(s) have little or no communication training, we recommend starting with our basic communication courses: Say What You Mean for Kids or Say What You Mean for Teens. After that, we usually recommend Know Your Audience which teaches listening and persuasion skills. At this point, students are usually ready for our speech and debate courses: Say What You Mean: A Creative Speech Course and Say What You Mean: Beginning Debate.
If your student(s) are more familiar with basic communication, you can skip right to the course you’d like them to master. We not only have listening, speech and debate, but also higher level studies on the topics of leadership, defending the faith, debating political issues as well as social communication on topics such as conflict management, shyness, business communication and more.
Most of our studies are 18 weeks or a semester and are able to be taught independently. Further they may be taught to individual students or in a co op or classroom setting. Our children’s studies may be used as homeschool curricula or as a supplement for public schooled children.
13. Do you have sample lessons/chapters I can view?
Yes. Art of Eloquence provides sample lessons/chapters from most of our studies both for children and adults on the product pages where each study is offered. Click on the study on that page and scroll down to the bottom of the product page where it says Sample Lesson or Sample Chapter.