Why Public Speaking is Essential, Now More Than Ever
Public speaking is an essential practice that helps students at a young age build confidence, think critically, and most importantly, communicate well. Whether it is a presentation, interview, or even a conversation, communication takes place everywhere. It’s undeniable that effective communication provides students with a gateway to stand out. Americans tend to agree with me here. Top employers actively look for and prioritize good speaking skills and 90% of Americans believe communication skills to be important for children to get ahead in today’s world, a number higher than skills like reading, math, or science, according to Pew Research.
But, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the younger generations saw a decline in their communication skills, for many were forced to stay indoors all day without having meaningful conversations and practicing social skills during a crucial developmental period. In addition, teaching proper public speaking skills is often overlooked on a national scale, and most schools do not teach oral communication.
With this in mind, SPEAR, Shaping Powerful Expression and Rhetoric, a non-profit dedicated to teaching students appropriate public speaking skills to better prepare them for their future, has created a versatile curriculum for younger students. Our goal is to remove the fear and stigma around public speaking at a young age and provide students with a foundation in public speaking that gets them more involved in their communities. Furthermore, we aim to teach students the soft skills hardly offered at schools that 81% of recruiters identify as important — a higher percentage than any other kind of skill.
