The Importance Of Public Speaking

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What is Public Speaking? What is your mental picture when you think about “public speaking?” The President of the United States delivering an inaugural address? A sales representative seeking to persuade clients in a board room? Your minister, priest, or rabbi presenting a sermon at a worship service? Your professor lecturing? A dramatic courtroom scene, probably from Law & Order? Politicians debating before an election? All of these and more are instances of public speaking. Be assured that public speaking takes many forms every day in our country and across the world. Now let’s get personal: Do you see yourself as a public speaker? And when you do, do you see yourself as confident, prepared, and effective, or nervous, unsure of what to…show more content…
As Jerry Seinfeld has said in his stand-up comedy routine, According to most studies, people's number one fear ispublic speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy. While it is a stretch to think that most people fear death less than giving a short speech, aversion toward public speaking situations and tasks is common. Anxiety and Public Speaking Why are so many people afraid of public speaking? This is a complex question, and the answer is tied to many personaland psychological factors such as self-efficacy, self-confidence, past experience, training, culture, and context. The term “glossophobia,” combining the two Greek words for “tongue” and “fear or dread,” has been coined to refer to a severe fear of public speaking. People who suffer from

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