How Public Speaking Helped Me | Public Speaking for Kids

Posted on March 12, 2012 by nafees ?

Melissa George is a corporate lawyer, working in the London office of a global firm. Here she shares her story of how public speaking helped her.

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I always envied my elder sister and her friends. They were only?two years older than me yet they always displayed such confidence in all affairs of life. They spoke with such ease on all things, whereas I could barely ask for someone to pass the salt at the dinner table without stuttering.

As a child, I was a bit of a geek. I loved watching the BBC Nine o Clock News (as it was back then) and seeing snippets of debates in the House of Commons. I was always impressed by the persuasive speaking on display and wondered how I could learn to speak better. I wanted to be able to defend myself and my beliefs at school the way these politicians could, but I was hardly able to even express mine.

My parents knew of my desire to improve my communication skills but told me?I would develop naturally as I progressed through?school.?Intuitively I knew I had to take pro-active action to learn how to speak better.

There were no Toastmasters or other equivalents in the small town where I lived so I did the next best thing. I joined a drama class after school. The activities we were given helped me with impromptu speaking, personal confidence and awareness of how to engage an audience.

In my spare time I would write short speeches at home and practice them in front of the mirror.

As a result, my ability to express myself in everyday life improved greatly.

When I arrived at university, the first thing I did was sign up to the debating society and the local Toastmasters group.

Every day in my job I have to rely on and build the skills I learnt through my public speaking endeavours as a child. I strongly urge all other parents to get their children involved from an early age to boost their children?s confidence, commnication skills, academic performance,?professional performance and, most important of all, happiness.

Source: http://publicspeakingforkids.org/2012/03/how-public-speaking-helped-me-melissas-story/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-public-speaking-helped-me-melissas-story

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