¶ … Public Speaking Class If it hadn't been for this class, I would be blushing amidst my various shades of sickly green, sweating through my shirt, and shredding my note cards into tiny pieces on the floor. As a result of taking a public speaking course, I have lost my previous feelings of self-consciousness, feel for the first time in life that my ideas have value, and am not intimidated by anyone. I can now brazenly assert that I am worth listening too.

Public speaking is an art, whether an inherent one or a learned approach." I am still baffled that I have learned the art of confidence. I had always thought that confidence was something that came from within, or was the culmination of some life-changing experience. Yet, as I have learned, being able to communicate with an audience has empowered me and my levels of confidence. Because I can communicate effectively, I take pride in my ideas. If I didn't have anything important to say, why would it matter if I said it all. In my opinion, the process is cyclic. Because I know how to speak to an audience, I take pride in what I want to communicate with them. Likewise, because I know what I have to say is important, I have taken pride in learning the most effective way to deliver my speech.

When I look back on my past experiences, it is unfortunate that I did not develop these skills earlier on in my life. From as early as I can remember, being afraid to speak in public has hindered my success academically and professionally. In both grade school and high school, teachers would always comment about how apathetic I was towards my schoolwork and how I never took an active role in discussions. The reason I never participated in class was not because I was disinterested...

Within my career field, I also have suffered do to my all consuming fear of public speaking. I was deathly afraid of job interviews and would avoid working towards a higher position because I knew that it might entail having to give speeches to other people in the company. I am a strong believer in teaching public speaking at all levels of one's education. It is as integral to an academic curriculum as any traditional subject matter. At my niece's high school, all tenth graders are required to take a twice a week seminar on public speaking. The classes are small, and they write a variety of different types of speeches and deliver them to the class. I think this is great, but I still feel that public speaking should be taught at an even younger age. While it may be mortifying for a first grader to have to give a speech to his or her class, even if it is just about what they did that weekend, it will help them in the future. By the time high school roles around, kids fears about public speaking have had fifteen years to escalate into unconquerable phobias. Students, even if they are so young that they are doing show and tell, should be instructed on the proper way to speak to a group. For example, "Johnny," who has just shown his new toy truck to his second grade class should be asked to maybe give his presentation again, but this time making more eye contact or using hand gestures. Public speaking skills could also be integrated into other subject areas in school. Simple things, like having students explain a math problem on the board, or give a mini-lesson to the class in a social studies class all help with public speaking skills later on in life. I also find it…