Matt McGarrity

Ph.D., Communication and Culture, Indiana University, 2005
Office: CMU 339
E-Mail: mcgarrit@uw.edu

Matt McGarrity, Principal Lecturer, teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in public speaking, argumentation, classical rhetoric, rhetorical criticism, and communication pedagogy. Dr. McGarrity is the founder and director of the Center for Speech & Debate, which offers speech coaching to students. His research and publishing focuses on communication education and public speaking. He has won a number of teaching awards, including UW’s Distinguished Teaching Award, Toastmaster’s Communications & Leadership Award, and the National Speakers’ Association’s Outstanding Professor Award. His online public speaking classes have reached a million students in over 170 countries.

Selected publications and presentations

McGarrity, M. (2018, February 11). Where Trump’s first State of the Union speech ranks historically, and why, according to a speech professor. Quartz.
McGarrity, M. (2018, January 12). A speech coach explains exactly why Oprah sounded so presidential. Quartz.
McGarrity, M. (2018). Market Your Content: How to Reach More Learners. Panel presentation at the 2018 Coursera Partner’s Conference. Tempe, AZ.
McGarrity, M. (2017). Public speaking in non-profits. Skype presentation and workshop for UNICEF, Eastern and Southern African regional office (ESARO). Nairobi, KE. I ran a short workshop for 80 UNICEF administrators representing the 21 countries in the ERSARO UNICEF region.
McGarrity, M. (2017). Connecting Content Strategy with Learners’ Career Goals. Panel presentation at the 2017 Coursera Partner’s Conference. Boulder, CO.
McGarrity, M. (2015). Communicating science. Presentation and workshop for the medical research program (Bispebjerg Hospital) at the University of Copenhagen. Copenhagen, DN.
McGarrity, M. (2015, 2014). Communicating climate science. Three-day intensive workshop for the Norwegian Research School in Climate Dynamics at the University of Bergen. Bergen, NO.
Panelist. (2014). Presence of Our Future(s): Exploring Communication Pedagogy in Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs). 100th annual meeting of the National Communication Association. Chicago, IL.
McGarrity, M. (2014). Noncredit MOOCs and Skills Training: An Examination of Coursera’s Public Speaking MOOC. Paper presented at the Oxford Internet Institute’s ICA preconference, “Innovation in Higher Education: Building a better future?” Seattle, WA.
McGarrity, M. (2013, December 12). Speaking up for the credit-less MOOC. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
McGarrity, M. & Crosby, B. (2012). Public speaking textbooks and rhetorical invention. Rhetoric Society Quarterly 42.2, 164-186.
McGarrity, M. (2012). Justifying public speaking models of imitation. Paper presented at the 98th annual meeting of the National Communication Association. Orlando, FL.
McGarrity, M. (2010). Communication textbooks: From the publisher to the desk. In D.L. Fassett & J. T. Warren (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of communication and instruction (pp. 107-128). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.