Public speaking is the top fear in America, before heights, darkness, and strangers. However, there are so many reasons why taking a public speaking course can be beneficial to all of us. Public Speaking is a tool everyone should learn to master, not just those majoring in communications. It is a lifelong skill, and will help prepare you for the intimidating one-on-one interviews in the business world.
- You Learn to Know Your Audience
Preparing for an interview is a hard task, especially when most communication with the employer is done over the phone or via email. You want to stand out, but also stay professional during the interview. Public speaking allows you to strengthen your vocabulary and practice appropriate language in the work environment.
- The Importance of Quick Improvising
Ever have an awkward silence? Do you always rely on bringing up the weather to fill the awkward void in the room? This class breaks those barriers by giving talking exercises with real world examples and skills to loosen up and feel less tense or nervous.
- Improves Non-Verbal Communication
Interviewers pay a lot of attention to your non-verbal communication, also known as body language. Public speaking courses go into depth on how body language can sometimes be more telling of a person's character than what they are verbally saying, and helps people learn which to show and which to avoid. These can include posture, hand gestures, and eye contact.
- Follow-Up Questions
This course helped familiarize ourselves with the type of questions that are likely to come up in an interview, and allowed us to practice responding to the questions, therefore with the overall goal of boosting our confidence in our abilities to respond to an interviewer properly.