Public speaking raises confidence


Volume 42, Issue 9. Today is .

February 1, 2005

‘We want You’
Student government member Cade Furnas (right) helps to encourage Daniel Bowers (left), to join the U.S. Army while taking part during FYI Day at MCC’s Red Mountain.

Thom Ottens Mesa Legend

Public speaking raises confidence

Jennifer Cooper
Contributing Writer

Public speaking is often ranked high on the list of common phobias.
“It’s a scary thing to do,” said Carolyn Fay, a communications instructor at MCC, referring to the course.
While it may sound intimidating, Fay said there are many benefits to taking public speaking classes
“I think the benefits are different for everybody that takes them,” Fay said, “but people certainly enjoy increased self-confidence.”
Students can also improve their organizational skills, in terms of both writing and talking, she said.
When asked what students can expect in a public speaking course, Fay exclaimed, “They can expect to be scared!”
“They can also expect to gain a lot of self-esteem from overcoming that and learning to manage their fear,” she added.
Cecilia Lindgard, a bilingual education student was enrolled in a public speaking class, said that although she was nervous about taking it, the classroom environment has helped put her public speaking fears at ease.
“I expected it to be challenge the whole time,” Lindgard said, “but I’m looking at how it’s gradually getting progressively harder and I think that it was intended to be like that; to put people like me who are nervous about it at ease.”
Fay, who has been teaching at MCC since 1992, said that one of the most common misconceptions about public speaking is that students tend to think it is more a performance and less a form of communication.
Many of Fay’s students tell her they had no idea how much organization went into public speaking.
“I think people kind of thought it was magic,” she said.
“Another thing many students don’t expect about public speaking is that it is technique-driven, making it a learnable skill,” Fay mentioned.
Students like Lindgard who take a public speaking class can benefit almost immediately from it.
Lindgard said that being enrolled in the class has helped her with giving speeches while doing volunteer work at her children’s school.
Fay agrees that students can take a lot away from the class and said that she would recommend the class even to students who do not need it for a degree.
“I can’t imagine any career or any life that wouldn’t involve public speaking opportunities,” she said.
“You’re never going to complete the rest of your college without having to do an oral presentation in class, so why not have the skills you need? It would be like starting a car without every taking driver’s ed,” Fay noted.
Public speaking skills are especially useful to students who are planning to transfer to Arizona State University’s College of Public Programs or the W.P. Carey School of Business.
Most programs in these colleges require a public speaking class, according to ASU’s 2003-2004 General Catalog.
Although most of Fay’s students enroll in her public speaking class to fulfill requirements, she said that she does encounter students who take the class as a way to challenge themselves.
“Some people really go about it as a personal challenge,” Fay said.
Lindgard said that in addition to taking the class because it was required, she took public speaking because she found it was a difficult thing for her to do, even as an education major.
“And in that field, I need that skill,” she said.
“Despite being a requirement, most students do have fun in the class,” Fay said, “It’s a lot more fun than you might think.”