Public Speaking is something frightening to most people. However, it can be very challenging and even fun.

It's a bit like swimming. The only way to get started is to "jump in" and anyone can do it.

The object of this course is to help you figure out how to present a speech so that you know what you are doing and can inform, persuade, and inspire audiences.

With practice and proper instruction, public speaking becomes easier.

With swimming, you can just splash around looking silly or you can swim with a purpose; but, we tend to laugh or get bored with watching people who are just splashing around.

We watch people who swim with a purpose and actually cheer them on. So, to be successful at Public Speaking you need to have a purpose or goal which will hold the attention and engage the emotions of your audience.

If you want to learn how to present effective speeches, you can do it. You might even find you enjoy it.

The most difficult part is making the commitment to do the work. However, with committment and guidance, you can become a great speaker.

Much of our understanding about public speaking comes from Aristotle. Aristotle believed that public speaking (Rhetoric) was the art of finding all the available means of persuasion.

He identified the characteristics people need to be effective when presenting speeches. They are:

• Ethos (integrity or credibility)
• Pathos (emotional involvement)
• Logos (logic)

So you need to be a person who takes responsibility for your actions and your beliefs.

You need to have integrity.

You need to be willing to share your emotions with the audience and to try to get them to respond emotionally to your ideas.

And you need to organize your ideas in a logical manner so the audience can follow your train of thought.

If you are not the kind of person who wants to make a difference in the world then you will probably find it difficult to prepare and deliver a good speech.

So, give some thought to your goals and beliefs and figure out what kind of impact you want to make on the world. Then you will be able to prepare effective speeches.

Let's talk about words!

It is important for a craftsman to understand their tools.

Words are the tools of speech.

You have been using words since you were an infant. You are very good at it. You are able to convince people to give you what you want and need. You are able to express your emotions and communicate your feelings. You are able to persuade many people to do what you want.

So, you already know a lot about how to use words effectively.

You already know that there are appropriate words to use in the classroom and at work and that these may be different from the words you use when you are with your friends.

You already know that public speaking is one of those situations where you use formal language.

I find language to be amazing!

What we say has an effect on the people who hear us.

I'm sure you have said things before that you wish you could take back because you realized later they were hurtful or stupid. No matter how much you apologize or try to explain what you really meant to say you can't take back the words that you spoke.

Words are used to incite people to war, to make love, to comfort the lonely, to heal the wounded of spirit, to teach children, to make promises, to share secrets, to confess sins, to attack another person's integrity, to transform discord into song, to celebrate life, to offer praise, to honor and laud good works, to build and sustain relationships, to direct actions, to claim victory, to play and joke, to entertain, to decry.

Without words we would not be human.

But meanings are in people not in words.

We agree arbitrarily on the meaning of a particular word and over time those meanings tend to change.