Benefits Of Public Speaking For College Students

Public speaking is essential, and first impressions are pivotal in how people view us. Public speaking is necessary to influence decisions through self-promotion. It could offer career opportunities with just the ability to articulate yourself well. Communication skills help with networking and building those assets to further establish success. Furthermore, communication is the essence of who you are as an individual, and quite frankly, speaking in public is something you can’t necessarily escape. Becoming a better speaker is critical when interacting with others and allows you to develop the right skillset for your career paths. Having said that, here are some benefits of public speaking for college students. 

Freedom of Expression

Expressing ourselves is so important in our society to showcase our individualism to allow ourselves to fully sustain the nature of our own voices and symbolize a revolutionized network of unimaginably powerful views. It is important to express ourselves to build meaningful relationships and gain new experiences. Social networking platforms allow us to effectively receive and present quality information detrimental to remaining aware of what is happening around us. Moreover, your ability to communicate adequately throughout your life as a college student cements you as a professional and reflects those experiences throughout your life.  

Creates Change

Public speaking allows us to effectively break the boundaries which keep us deprived of social change in our societies by challenging our perspectives and beliefs to construct in-depth knowledge of socially related problems. Facilitating change in public by using our voices could also aid in advancing social reform to benefit students everywhere. More significantly, it paves the way for an advanced unbiased system for equal opportunity. Likewise, the art of speaking in public can act as a call to action and influence your peers to be their best selves. 

Building Connections

Speaking in public helps college students’ understanding of the relationship between our individual conditions and much larger social forces of day-to-day experiences. It reminds me of sociology and how it examines how the individual and society interact. Some assume that we are social animals from birth, and we are intensely influenced by other people’s beliefs. Different basic assumptions about the world are that society changes people, and people change society. Many would argue that without the quality of mind or “ the sociological imagination,” we wouldn’t be able to make sense of our own behavior, much less the actions of others. The benefit is building those connections in doing so, exploring our diversities, and being conscious of those relationships for the academic success we strive for as scholars.

Confidence

Speech, they say, is one of the most extraordinary things the human race could and have contributed to. Being social creatures and being able to communicate our emotions and thoughts is uniquely beautiful. That said, an advantage of public speaking is that it boosts confidence. I remember standing in front of the class for a presentation, knees buckling, sweaty palms, and shaky hands; fear keeps us stagnated, and at that moment, it had me terrified. Fear is the enemy of self-confidence. Having an audience right in front of you could be overwhelming but persistently challenging those feelings gradually, you will be able to overcome that fear by speaking in front of people.   

Networking

Networking and building new professional contacts are essential for a college student, and public speaking is definitely a factor for those accomplishments, whether academic or otherwise. Practice makes perfect, and being actively involved in your educational institution makes you stand out in a crowd which is good to be exposed to influential individuals within your community. Connections are critical in business, and meeting new friends, acquaintances, or other exciting contacts could potentially help you; like they say, “It is not about what you know, it is about who you know.” 

The Art of Persuasion

There will come a time when you may need to persuade an audience, whether for your career or education. Persuasive speech is vital for college students to effectively present their ideas and arguments through well-practiced communication skills. The art of persuasion also helps students academically and in the workplace as well. The skills you learn and obtain by nurturing convincing arguments expand beyond addressing an audience. Learning to communicate and honing those skills helps individuals speak clearly to articulate ideas while expounding on the tools necessary to thrive in the business community and those of the social variety. 

Leadership Development

 Have you ever heard the saying “Great leaders are great public speakers” or “The art of communication is the language of leadership” (James Humes)? Well, public speaking is undoubtedly a part of the equation for leadership development. Similarly, using our voices uplifts and makes student communities prosper to establish the success we desire to see within our institutions and world. Effective public speaking builds leadership skills, and being able to communicate confidently in public is a key to advancement. In turn, it helps you inspire people and motivate them.  

Listen, You’ll Learn Something.

Some find it unbearable complicated, while others find it embarrassing: public speaking. Listening is critically significant, and it is a skill that adds value to the communication process. No matter how you are engaged with listening, it’s far more critical than just hearing what someone has to say but interpreting what they’re saying to respond appropriately and understand. Effective listening helps you become a powerful public speaker. Listening can be twice as essential as speaking because it allows you to properly analyze information for speeches.  

Public speaking is necessary for our roles as individuals, whether in a social or personal sense. That said, I play a social role as a student, and that purpose is to learn and gain knowledge from those experiences to apply to my day-to-day life, which benefits me to speak publicly to build skills to flourish in a number of settings. How has public speaking helped you as a college student, and do you believe it is crucial to prospering academically and business-wise? Tell us in the comments!

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