I hate public speaking. HATE IT. I even hate public signing. Yes, you can stutter in sign language. Basically anything in public that involves attention on me is the worst. One of my graphic design professors at Utah State highly recommended taking a public speaking class while in school. Speech 1020 was a class of 200. No, thank you. I will just avoid any possibility of having to speak in front of a crowd. No presenting my work, no representing myself or a company, nope, no way, nada. Or, thanks to graphic designer/freelance writer David Barringer and his mom, I may be able to get through the horror that is public speaking, with their helpful tips.
I mostly just like the icons that go with each tip.
Advertisements
Psh. No milk for 3 days prior? Whatev man. He’s nuts.
Still Emily.
I think he’s a genius! Although he should also mention not eating meat [at all] because it congests your colon….and you do NOT want to be backed up during a public speaking. What a nightmare.
Nic:
You aren’t alone – about one in 5 Americans has a fear of public speaking, as is discussed in an article at the bottom of this newsletter web page: http://pulsebeat.district15speaks.org/summer09/pulsebeat.html
I also would be intimidated by a public speaking class with 200 students. For a lot of people (including me) the fear of public speaking gradually went away with experience. What worked for me was speaking to smaller, non-threatening audiences. In business your audience probably will mostly just fit in a small conference room, not a lecture hall the size of a ballroom!
One possible better way to do learn speaking is to join a local club of Toastmasters International. Their web site is http://www.toastmasters.org Click the “FIND a location near you” button on their home page. You will see that there are a half-dozen Toastmasters clubs in Ogden and ~50 in the whole state of Utah. Most clubs meet weekly. Utah and most of Idaho are in District 15.
Read the following article and look around before you join a Toastmasters club:
http://blog.jvf.com/2009/01/08/public-speaking-myths-joining-toastmasters-will-make-you-a-better-speaker/
If you are not comfortable with the other people, then you will be wasting your time.
Richard