Lions & Tigers & Public Speaking, Oh My!
A Course in Public Speaking
Taught by
Lilli Witczak
A true story that happened to me. I had practiced my guitar pieces weeks. In rehearsals, my playing was pretty good and it was definitely better than the man, who made up the other half of our duo. Finally, it was the night to do a practice performance in front of no more than 10 other performers and instructors…..And I blew the piece. I stunk. I was so nervous, that I stopped playing and made my partner start the piece from the beginning and even then, I played lousy. As though my bombing wasn’t bad enough, afterwards my partner chastised me. A week later was the actual performance with probably 15 people in attendance. I did a little better, because I was still very angry at my partner for his mistreatment of me.
What could have helped me? If I had more experience playing and speaking in public I would have done a much better job.
According to Dale Carnegie, the best way to become an effective public speaker is to watch / listen to great speeches and to practice public speaking. This course offers exactly that….
By being an effective public communicator, a person can focus on the message being conveyed to the audience rather than being self-focused.
Public speaking promotes skills in bravery and leadership. Students will be introduced to some of the great speeches in history made by people such as Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and John F. Kennedy, and they will be given the opportunity to hone their own public speaking and performance skills. Students will not be giving a speech every week. In addition to speaking, they will learn to plan their presentations and develop stage presence and manners. The writing component of the class will consist of planning speeches. Students will also be taught how to be polite respectful audience members. Additionally, they will be taught how to give positive constructive criticism.
If you don’t like public speaking, think back to the last time you spoke publically. Did you feel uncomfortable or unprepared, maybe even a little ashamed? Would some instruction and practice have been helpful? If you answered yes to these questions, you might consider enrolling your student in this public speaking course.
Course Details
Now come on, don’t be shy….For some people, death is preferable to public speaking, because they are so afraid That need not be the case. When tackled in a fun friendly environment, even the greatest scaredy-cat can overcome this fear.
Don’t worry, students won’t be giving a speech every week. Because students will learn to plan presentations, there will be a writing component to the class. So even if your student doesn’t have stage fright, he (or she) can benefit from learning how to plan what to say as well as how to say it; how to have “stage presence” and manners.
Types of speeches and presentations (and torture) may include but not be limited to:
- Introduce yourself
- Show one of your interests
- Recite a memorized speech or poem
- Interview a person
- Present a one act play with other students
- Teach us how to do something
- Persuasive speech
- Give a Sales Pitch (commercial)
- Review a movie or book
- ….and more!
As members of the audience, there will be plenty of photo ops for parents and grandparents.
The key is to relax. Breathe (or you’ll pass out)…..Now….Sign up!
COST: $200.00 per semester ($225 if a charter student) plus books, etc. Plus a one time non-refundable registration fee of $25, which is waived for students whose paid tuition and registration are postmarked before August 1.
COURSE DURATION: 1 year.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: TBA
CONTACT: Lilli Witczak (626)355-5642 or email at: lilli.witczak@gmail.com