Why Is Public Speaking Important?

Learning Objectives
1.

Explore three types of public speaking in everyday life: informative, persuasive, and entertaining.

2.

Understand the benefits of taking a course in public speaking.

3.

Explain the benefits people get from engaging in public speaking.

In todays world, we are constantly bombarded with messages both good and bad. No matter where you
live, where you work or go to school, or what kinds of media you use, you are probably exposed to
hundreds. if not thousands, of advertising messages every day. Researcher Norman W. Edmund estimates
that by 2020 the amount of knowledge in the world will double every seventy-three days.

[1]

Because we live

in a world where we are overwhelmed with content, communicating information in a way that is accessible
to others is more important today than ever before. To help us further understand why public speaking is
important, we will first examine public speaking in everyday life. We will then discuss how public speaking
can benefit you personally.

Everyday Public Speaking

Every single day people across the United States and around the world stand up in front of some kind of
audience and speak. In fact, theres even a monthly publication that reproduces some of the top speeches
from around the United States called Vital Speeches of the Day (http://www.vsotd.com ). Although public
speeches are of various types, they can generally be grouped into three categories based on their intended
purpose: informative, persuasive, and entertaining.

Informative Speaking
One of the most common types of public speaking is informative speaking. The primary purpose of
informative presentations is to share ones knowledge of a subject with an audience. Reasons for making
an informative speech vary widely. For example, you might be asked to instruct a group of coworkers on
how to use new computer software or to report to a group of managers how your latest project is coming
along. A local community group might wish to hear about your volunteer activities in New Orleans during
spring break, or your classmates may want you to share your expertise on Mediterranean cooking. What all
these examples have in common is the goal of imparting information to an audience.
Informative speaking is integrated into many different occupations. Physicians often lecture about their
areas of expertise to medical students, other physicians, and patients. Teachers find themselves presenting
to parents as well as to their students. Firefighters give demonstrations about how to effectively control a
fire in the house. Informative speaking is a common part of numerous jobs and other everyday activities. As
a result, learning how to speak effectively has become an essential skill in todays world.

Persuasive Speaking
A second common reason for speaking to an audience is to persuade others. In our everyday lives, we are
often called on to convince, motivate, or otherwise persuade others to change their beliefs, take an action,
or reconsider a decision. Advocating for music education in your local school district, convincing clients to
purchase your companys products, or inspiring high school students to attend college all involve influencing
other people through public speaking.
For some people, such as elected officials, giving persuasive speeches is a crucial part of attaining and
continuing career success. Other people make careers out of speaking to groups of people who pay to
listen to them. Motivational authors and speakers, such as Les Brown (http://www.lesbrown.com ), make
millions of dollars each year from people who want to be motivated to do better in their lives. Brian Tracy,
another professional speaker and author, specializes in helping business leaders become more productive
and effective in the workplace (http://www.briantracy.com).
Whether public speaking is something you do every day or just a few times a year, persuading others is a
challenging task. If you develop the skill to persuade effectively, it can be personally and professionally
rewarding.

Entertaining Speaking
Entertaining speaking involves an array of speaking occasions ranging from introductions to wedding
toasts, to presenting and accepting awards, to delivering eulogies at funerals and memorial services in
addition to after-dinner speeches and motivational speeches. Entertaining speaking has been important
since the time of the ancient Greeks, when Aristotle identified epideictic speaking (speaking in a ceremonial
context) as an important type of address. As with persuasive and informative speaking, there are
professionals, from religious leaders to comedians, who make a living simply from delivering entertaining

speeches. As anyone who has watched an awards show on television or has seen an incoherent best man
deliver a wedding toast can attest, speaking to entertain is a task that requires preparation and practice to
be effective.

Personal Benefits of Public Speaking

Oral communication skills were the number one skill that college graduates found useful in the business
world, according to a study by sociologist Andrew Zekeri.

[2]

That fact alone makes learning about public

speaking worthwhile. However, there are many other benefits of communicating effectively for the hundreds
of thousands of college students every year who take public speaking courses. Lets take a look at some of
the personal benefits youll get both from a course in public speaking and from giving public speeches.

Benefits of Public Speaking Courses

In addition to learning the process of creating and delivering an effective speech, students of public
speaking leave the class with a number of other benefits as well. Some of these benefits include

developing critical thinking skills,

fine-tuning verbal and nonverbal skills,

overcoming fear of public speaking.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

One of the very first benefits you will gain from your public speaking course is an increased ability to think
critically. Problem solving is one of many critical thinking skills you will engage in during this course. For
example, when preparing a persuasive speech, youll have to think through real problems affecting your
campus, community, or the world and provide possible solutions to those problems. Youll also have to think
about the positive and negative consequences of your solutions and then communicate your ideas to
others. At first, it may seem easy to come up with solutions for a campus problem such as a shortage of
parking spaces: just build more spaces. But after thinking and researching further you may find out that
building costs, environmental impact from loss of green space, maintenance needs, or limited locations for
additional spaces make this solution impractical. Being able to think through problems and analyze the
potential costs and benefits of solutions is an essential part of critical thinking and of public speaking aimed
at persuading others. These skills will help you not only in public speaking contexts but throughout your life
as well. As we stated earlier, college graduates in Zekeris study rated oral communication skills as the most
useful for success in the business world. The second most valuable skill they reported was problem-solving
ability, so your public speaking course is doubly valuable!
Another benefit to public speaking is that it will enhance your ability to conduct and analyze research.
Public speakers must provide credible evidence within their speeches if they are going to persuade various
audiences. So your public speaking course will further refine your ability to find and utilize a range of
sources.

Fine-Tuning Verbal and Nonverbal Skills

A second benefit of taking a public speaking course is that it will help you fine-tune your verbal and
nonverbal communication skills. Whether you competed in public speaking in high school or this is your first
time speaking in front of an audience, having the opportunity to actively practice communication skills and
receive professional feedback will help you become a better overall communicator. Often, people dont even
realize that they twirl their hair or repeatedly mispronounce words while speaking in public settings until
they receive feedback from a teacher during a public speaking course. People around the United States will
often pay speech coaches over one hundred dollars per hour to help them enhance their speaking skills.
You have a built-in speech coach right in your classroom, so it is to your advantage to use the opportunity
to improve your verbal and nonverbal communication skills.

Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking

An additional benefit of taking a public speaking class is that it will help reduce your fear of public speaking.
Whether theyve spoken in public a lot or are just getting started, most people experience some anxiety
when engaging in public speaking. Heidi Rose and Andrew Rancer evaluated students levels of public
speaking anxiety during both the first and last weeks of their public speaking class and found that those
levels decreased over the course of the semester.

[3]

One explanation is that people often have little

exposure to public speaking. By taking a course in public speaking, students become better acquainted with
the public speaking process, making them more confident and less apprehensive. In addition, you will learn
specific strategies for overcoming the challenges of speech anxiety. We will discuss this topic in greater
detail in Chapter 3 "Speaking Confidently" .

Benefits of Engaging in Public Speaking

Once youve learned the basic skills associated with public speaking, youll find that being able to effectively
speak in public has profound benefits, including

influencing the world around you,

developing leadership skills,

becoming a thought leader.

Influencing the World around You

If you dont like something about your local government, then speak out about your issue! One of the best
ways to get our society to change is through the power of speech. Common citizens in the United States
and around the world, like you, are influencing the world in real ways through the power of speech. Just
type the words citizens speak out in a search engine and youll find numerous examples of how common
citizens use the power of speech to make real changes in the worldfor example, by speaking out against
fracking for natural gas (a process in which chemicals are injected into rocks in an attempt to open them
up for fast flow of natural gas or oil) or in favor of retaining a popular local sheriff. One of the amazing parts

of being a citizen in a democracy is the right to stand up and speak out, which is a luxury many people in
the world do not have. So if you dont like something, be the force of change youre looking for through the
power of speech.

Developing Leadership Skills

Have you ever thought about climbing the corporate ladder and eventually finding yourself in a management
or other leadership position? If so, then public speaking skills are very important. Hackman and Johnson
assert that effective public speaking skills are a necessity for all leaders.

[4]

If you want people to follow you,

you have to communicate effectively and clearly what followers should do. According to Bender, Powerful
leadership comes from knowing what matters to you. Powerful presentations come from expressing this
effectively. Its important to develop both.

[5]

One of the most important skills for leaders to develop is their

public speaking skills, which is why executives spend millions of dollars every year going to public speaking
workshops; hiring public speaking coaches; and buying public speaking books, CDs, and DVDs.

Becoming a Thought Leader

Even if you are not in an official leadership position, effective public speaking can help you become a
thought leader. Joel Kurtzman, editor of Strategy & Business, coined this term to call attention to
individuals who contribute new ideas to the world of business. According to business consultant Ken
Lizotte, when your colleagues, prospects, and customers view you as one very smart guy or gal to know,
then youre a thought leader.

[6]

Typically, thought leaders engage in a range of behaviors, including

enacting and conducting research on business practices. To achieve thought leader status, individuals must
communicate their ideas to others through both writing and public speaking. Lizotte demonstrates how
becoming a thought leader can be personally and financially rewarding at the same time: when others look
to you as a thought leader, you will be more desired and make more money as a result. Business gurus
often refer to intellectual capital, or the combination of your knowledge and ability to communicate that
knowledge to others.

[7]

Whether standing before a group of executives discussing the next great trend in

business or delivering a webinar (a seminar over the web), thought leaders use public speaking every day
to create the future that the rest of us live in.

Key Takeaways

People have many reasons for engaging in public speaking, but the skills necessary for public
speaking are applicable whether someone is speaking for informative, persuasive, or entertainment
reasons.

Taking a public speaking class will improve your speaking skills, help you be a more critical thinker,
fine-tune your verbal and nonverbal communication skills, and help you overcome public speaking anxiety.

Effective public speaking skills have many direct benefits for the individual speaker, including
influencing the world around you, developing leadership skills, and becoming a go-to person for ideas and
solutions.

Exercises
1.

Talk to people who are currently working in the career you hope to pursue. Of the three types of public
speaking discussed in the text, which do they use most commonly use in their work?

2.

Read one of the free speeches available at http://www.vsotd.com. What do you think the speaker was
trying to accomplish? What was her or his reason for speaking?

3.

Which personal benefit are you most interested in receiving from a public speaking class? Why?