The Lasting Effect of a Public Speaking Class by Anna

The Lasting Effect of a Public Speaking Class by Anna - September 2017 Scholarship Essay

Public speaking was an elective that I took my junior year of high school. Aside from this specific elective, the majority of the electives I have taken had no lasting effect on me. Once those classes were over, most everything that I learned in them left my mind because I had no use for that information. With public speaking, that did not occur. The lessons that I was taught by my teacher, Mr. Adams, are lessons that will still be applicable to my life in twenty years. Those same lessons can also be used right now with my current and future classes.

Prior to taking public speaking I had no idea how to present to any crowd, let alone a classroom full of my peers. I dreaded any assignment that included having to stand at the front of the classroom to present. It did not matter if I knew every detail about the subject, I did not know how to prepare a speech, so when it came time to actually present I would forget everything I had learned. Through this class I learned how to not only prepare for a speech by outlining it and creating cue cards to help me convey all my information to my audience, but I also learned how to give an effective speech. The speeches I would give during that class had hooks to gain the audiences attention, and they also taught me how to maintain their attention by making my speech applicable to the audience. This is a skill that can be used in many other classes.

The majority of speeches I gave in Mr. Adams class had to be over five minutes long. Having to write a speech that was creative enough to be interesting for that long, largely helped improve my overall writing. When giving speeches aloud I became more conscious of where I was repetitive and where I was unclear. This translated into me trying to be more careful when writing in English. While I was taking this elective, I was also taking AP Language, where I had to write long essays. It became clear to me that writing the different types of essays and giving the different types of speeches were very similar processes. While I was improving my writing skills I was also able to improve my public speaking skills.

One of the major lessons I learned in public speaking was to be considerate of the audience I was addressing. It is important when addressing any group of people that even a small part of the group doe not feel attacked at any point. Keeping this in mind, it has helped to open my eyes to the perspectives of others people. I am more careful what I write and what I say during group discussions. This has come in handy when writing up analysis' on news articles for my AP Government. It is very easy to insert biased opinions that may be hurtful into any writing, especially when discussing national news. When I reread my write ups I look for anything that may come across and offensive that I unintentionally put in there. Being aware of others feelings is one of the most important lessons I will take from public speaking and insert to other aspects of my education.

Since taking public speaking my understanding for communication has vastly improved. It has given me a confidence in my classes that I was missing before. I am no longer nervous to speak up in class, I know I can clearly relay my thoughts and ideas. Out of all the electives I have taken in all my high school years, public speaking will have the largest impact on my education by leaving lasting lessons and important life skills.