Public Speaking: The Secret to Growing in Communication

Researchers estimate that 75% of Americans experience a fear of public speaking. Statistically speaking, you probably find yourself counted amount the many people who dread presentations and speeches. While this fear might have been a nuisance when you were in school, you may feel that developing public speaking skills as an adult is too big a hassle. Because, really, how often are you actually using those skills?

Becoming a successful public speaker, however, goes far beyond making it through your Maid of Honor speech without freezing up. Overcoming your fear of public speaking can help you grow in everyday verbal and nonverbal communication skills and grow in the confidence needed to navigate complication conversations—and who doesn’t need that? Public speaking requires clarity, directness, and self-assurance, all of which can help us in our daily communication.

If you are interested in growing in this vital skill, you need not look further than your local library: Join the Coastal Region Library in Crystal River on Friday, January 12 at 10:30 AM for Public Speaking! Public Speaking will meet once a month, and will cover a wide variety of different public speaking topics. From storytelling skills, to posture, to getting to the point without rambling, participants will learn and practice a wide variety of skills. Participants will get to see examples, play improv games, and even present and workshop their own speeches, all in order to learn the invaluable skills of speaking with confidence and precision. To quote Chris Anderson, curator of TED, in his book Thank You for Coming to My TED Talk: “Understanding how to speak publicly, with confidence and courage, is a skill that will serve you always.”

Library programs are free and open to the public. For more information about this program, please visit our online calendar at attend.citruslibraries.org/events or call the Coastal Region Branch at (352) 795-3716. To stay in the know about upcoming programs and events, follow @CitrusLibraries on Facebook and Instagram.