Why I Believe Public Speaking Is Important

Public speaking is one of the most under rated skills learned in school, yet is one of the most valuable. The way you communicate shows a lot about you, and can influence other's opinions of you. In every profession communication in some way is used and important. Good communication skills, no matter what you plan to do in life, will help you out greatly and improve your chances against a harsh job market. I am majoring in Business Administration and Law, and communication is one of the biggest parts of business and law, yet communication is hardly ever taught in business classes for my major. I think that a communications class like public speaking, for example, should be not just for a college class, but taught in high school and middle school as well. I believe several classes would allow anyone to become an expert speaking. The only way to fully learn public speaking is to get up in front of people and talk to them. One can not learn public speaking from a book.

One's career, school life, and even socializing are affected by communication. If you do not know how to communicate, you probably do not have many friends. Communication has been used since the days of the cavemen. When the cavemen learned to communicate they greatly increased their hunting potential. When they learned to communicate on the hunt and before the hunt, they caught much more game then when they were just randomly running after the animals with spears. In school, if teachers and students could not communicate well, how would anything ever get done? In a business, communication is the most important ingredient. Working at a corporation at a higher level, you deal with hundreds of important emails, meetings, phone calls, and other forms of communicating with your co-workers.

I like communicating with other people, and much of my life consists of me with my friends. Communicating with people is a good way to become social and comfortable around people. Public speaking is my least favorite part of communicating but I feel if I go into business, it will be one of the most important things to learn. If I have to give a big speech, it could be the first time several upper management bosses really hear what I have to say, and if I give a poor speech and look frightened, it could make them think I am incompetent and cannot communicate. According to Neher's journal: Speech in the core, "The ability to express one's self verbally may become increasingly important in order to succeed in a competitive society.'' Believe it or not, this journal was written in 1985, and Neher could not have been more right.

Out of all my schooling, I have