Practice, Preparation, and Delivery Techniques

Photograph of Jim Rohn.
“Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.” —Jim Rohn Source: Tajul Islam Apurbo, Jim rohn, CC BY-SA 4.0

As a general rule of life, learned skills require practice to refine, develop, and perfect. Any dedicated athlete will confirm this fact. The average person off the street cannot pick up a textbook on the fundamentals of basketball, study it during a caffeine-fueled all-nighter, and then show up for tryouts with an NBA team, expecting a starting spot on the team. The same holds true for foreign languages, hobbies, crafts, and trades. It takes time, effort, and a vigorous commitment to the process of trial and error for a person to develop any skill.

Communication in general, but especially public speaking, essentially consists of a set of learned skills that speakers must develop through regular, dedicated practice. Some people have a seemingly natural talent for public speaking, while others fall on the opposite end of the spectrum and become crippled by the mere thought of standing up in front of an audience. This chapter aims to help the latter become more confident public speakers.

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Messages that Matter: Public Speaking in the Information Age - Third Edition Copyright © 2023 by North Idaho College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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