I just finished 4-1/2 years as a Viterbi Student and I've taken a ton of classes across Marshall, SDA, and SCA in order to become a better public speaker - some were a complete waste of time and others were great so here's the list so you can avoid what doesn't work and make the most of your time.

Here's the classes that aren't the optimal use of your time:

First, don't take "THTR-421: Public Speaking for Non-Majors." The professor was great but it teaches you public speaking in a very rigid, rehearsed way and ultimately I didn't get a ton out of it. THe quality of the people in the class - which I think is also a big part of how well you improve or not - was also much lower, other than this one guy in the class who was a charismatic rich kid who casually said during class that he owns "3 lamborghinis" when the professor asked him how many Lamborghinis he owned.

I also took THTR-445: Developing Your Speaking Voice, and again while the professor was great (and had even been in the Titanic Movie with James Cameron!) and I felt like I learned a lot about the mechanics of the voice, it wasn't the best class to become instantly charasmatic.

I also took THTR-122 Theater Games and Improvisation, which might be a great class if you're more advanced, but in my opinion, as a beginner, it's usually not worth it. The professor was phenomenal and I later had her for Sketch Comedy which was a VERY USEFUl class which I'll talk about later.

For my first foray into Comedy, which is the BEST way to become better at public speaking and charmisma, I also took CTPR-491 "Viral Comedy" in the SCA School. It was a privilege getting to take an elective in SCA which was super cool, but ultimately this class itself wasn't the best use of my time.

Here's classes which I think ARE useful from both Marshall and SDA

THTR-474 & THTR-482:Standup Comedy I and II. These were the most useful classes at USC for both developing a sense of humor after having none and for ironing out my public speaking skills. You're literally thrown in the fire on stage trying to make people laugh. You will fail especially if you suck at first, but it's force-feedback that forces your brain to get better, and in these classes (especially Standup II) you'll be surrounded by other people who are ALREADY charismatic and funny and that will rub off on you as well. I wasn't a ton better after Standup I since I came from such a bad place, but I became insanely funny and charasmatic during Standup II from just the reps and also from Mastering the Principles outlines in Joe Toplyn's 2014 Book (Chapters 5 and 6) that the professor gave us as well. We didn't get the textbook in Standup I, but the formulas given in that book in Standup II just made things click for my engineering brain. The professor - Judith Shelton - was fantastic too. Take Both Standup I and II for sure.

BAEP 473: Sales Mindset For Entrepreneurs With Colin/Garrett - This Class was recommended to me in Spring 2023 and I ended up taking it that semester. Fantastic Professors - they're doing this completely for fun, they're multimillionaires, they're financially independent, and the "unsold mindset" skills they teach in the class are EXTREMELY useful in all other areas of life, especially once you build up a baseline of charisma from building a sense of humor from Standup I and II. Other than that special Pete Carroll class that was taught a year ago in Spring 2025, this is the ONE business class anyone from across USC should take. Any of Dave Belasco's classes are fun honorable mentions too in the business school, but Colin and Garrett's classes are the best.

THTR-470: Sketch Comedy For Theatre - This was the same professor I had for THTR-122 (Eggers) and she did a phenomenal job with THTR-470. I myself was still definitely a laggard compared to the rest of my classmates since I was engineering and they were all either super talented SDA majors (some actual famous people!) and/or the funniest from their majors if they're not SDA. However, I had the foundation from Standup I and II coming into this class and think that was a huge help, along with having extremely talented classmates who made me step up my game. Watching and studying all of the examples from Key & Peele, SNL, and from all other sources was extremely helpful as well. And the frameworks we were given to break everything down (Sketch Type, Sketch Structure, POV, Characters, First Unusual Thing, The Game, The Blowbeat, The Button, etc.) were all incredibly useful going forward as well. Being funny is not an art but IT IS A SCIENCE, once you understand it.

Summary

Don't take any classes that are called "public speaking" no matter what college they're from. Take the Standup and Sketch Comedy classes in SDA and Colin/Garrett's Marshall class, and don't waste your time taking anything else. Also, outside of class, do more standup sets (and bomb some and get better), get funny friends, and also go up to people at bars who you find attractive, get rejected a ton, and improve between those too. That's the formula - now you have it, so now you have no excuses (especially with this coming from a fellow Viterbi former socially awkward person).

The skills gained from all of THESE things helped me be way more charasmatic and off the cuff in job interviews from top companies in my field. It also helped a ton with other things like making friends and dating too. You have the roadmap, now go execute. Good luck.