This was one of my first classes I have taken at UCLA. Since it is a speech class, I was definitely nervous, but this nervousness went away after literally the first day. From the get go, he goes over everything you will be doing over the quarter. The class consists of 3 speeches that are around 5-7 mins each (biography, informative, and persuasive), and a paper in which you analyze a speaker (4-7 pages). The lowest grade I received on a speech was a 95 on my first one. From there on I got 100s on all of the assignments- including the paper. Kochian is a very fair grader and the assignments are incredibly easy and flexible. He goes out of his way to make everyone feel comfortable and has a lighthearted and endearing spirit about him. I am extremely glad I took this class with this professor, he definitely made it worthwhile. Of course this was during COVID so it was a bit easier, but I learned a lot about how to perfect my own public speaking. Overall, I enjoyed the class and would encourage everyone to take it with him for an easy A and caring professor.

This is a great introductory course to Communications. Though it was Professor Kochian's last quarter teaching, I want to give him credit for being such an amazing teacher. He was understanding of all of his student's individual situations and made the class enjoyable. His class was welcoming and pleasant which is important especially for a public speaking class.

LOVE kochian! this class was super easy and almost no work. there were 4 speeches and a paper and that is it- no midterm or final. class is mandatory because it is a public speaking class but other than that there is no outside work. kochian is super helpful and sweet. even though it was vitural, i still learned a lot and almost everyone got As

The workload is easy and one of the lightest I've ever experienced. We had 3 speeches which were 30% of the grade each, and he graded them quite easily. Then we had a final paper worth 10% which again was graded easily. We spend most class time listening to other people's speeches, and he gives advice during a few classes. You're supposed to attend every day even if you're not presenting though.
I thought Prof. Kochian did a good job creating a welcoming atmosphere and encouraging us to practice public speaking. It did feel kind of dumb doing this over Zoom but I guess that's to be expected. Seems like we're all trying our best with this limited format.

Absolutely love Professor Kochian. I was off-put by some reviews on here, but he was so kind, understanding, and helpful throughout the class. We presented speeches on a diverse array of topics and he was enthusiastic and open-minded throughout all. He interacts with the students individually, which makes you feel very connected to the class. He cultivated a really friendly and supportive classroom environment too. I was having a terrible first quarter with Covid-19 and quarantine, and I felt really stressed and lonely, but this class was the best part of my fall quarter.

The class was broken down into three speeches (icon/biography, informative, and persuasive) and then a paper, rhetorical analysis on other speakers/speeches, and then yourself. He grades very fairly, if not very "easily." He understands that we're all at different public speaking levels, takes that into account, and even encourages us to read off the screen because it is easier.

Professor Kochian offered a lot of helpful advice and insight on my speech technique and the content of my speeches. He oftentimes stayed on Zoom after class when we had questions too! He was really accommodating too.

Professor Kochian was one of the best professors I've had at UCLA. You can tell he really cares for his students and wants them to improve in public speaking. He gives feedback to everyone and provides comments with your grade, which was helpful. He also tried to crack jokes with students and was very easygoing! If you needed help brainstorming topics, he dedicated class time for that. You have to attend his class live, but honestly it was worth it to hear everyone's speeches! Everyone could talk about anything they wanted, so it made speechwriting pretty fun. By the end, I grew more confident in public speaking and would take this class again. (Highly recommend as a practical, easy class even if it doesn't fulfill any of your requirements!)

Kochian is a very engaging and entertaining professor. He grades very fairly, is open to all subjects, and is always interested in the topic presented, no matter what it is. The class consists of 3 speeches and a final paper, all very straightforward. Easy A if you do what is asked.

oh man, coming back to rate him. He is SO CHILL, I really enjoyed my time even though he clearly didn't love the format of Zoom he was super accommodating. He always tries to crack a joke or two and I think it's so endearing. Definitely take this guy's class, it'll be worth your time

Prof Kochian is a great professor for Comm 1! I had previously taken (and then dropped) Comm 1 with Mack and I had a much better experience with Kochian. He is very clear with what he wants to hear in a speech. This class was over Zoom. Though there were technical difficulties, the class remained engaged and complementary of each other. I would warn people whose last names are at the end of the alphabet though. He is most engaged/supportive of students who go first (ie A-Fs) and seems to lose interest by the end of roster. I felt that he also seemed to choose favorites. Though it didn't affect my grades, I could see how it affected my and other students' confidence. Overall, great class. Easy and applicable to real life

This is in response to the VERY negative review posted here from Fall 2019. I by no means want to invalidate this person's experience of the course, but I can tell you for sure that this was NOT how I felt taking Comm 1 with Dr. Kochian during that same time period!

Personally, I found that this course was one of the few courses I took at UCLA that I would truly describe as FUN. We had the creative freedom to give speeches on topics about which we were passionate, so it did not seem really difficult for me to prepare for my presentations. Also, while I spent some of my time in the course preparing to present, I had lots of periods in the quarter where I had a complete break from the course. When I did have a speech, as I had suggested previously, it was really fun because I got to talk about things I really like for a school assignment (Who wouldn't like that opportunity?!?!). Additionally, Dr. Kochian would take time at the end of each speech to talk to us and/or ask us about the subject matter of our speeches, which I appreciated because it showed that he wanted to learn about his students and their passions.

Moreover, while I definitely appreciate some of the concerns raised by the negative review, I would argue that (if the review is entirely truthful) these are honest, one-off mistakes and not reflections of Dr. Kochian as a professor. I feel like if these kinds of issues were a theme in Dr. Kochian's teaching, then there would probably be more reviews like this up here, but there are not! Virtually every review on this platform is positive, as it should be!

Lastly, while I do not want to go too far into the comments about race, I will say that I had my positive experience with this course as a non-athlete of non-European descent (I mean I've been told that I look white and that I look non-white, and I do an extracurricular activity that is kind of associated with athletics, but personally I doubt most people see me as either a stereotypical "white" person or an athlete.).