Sayem Khan, BBA 2019
The art of public speaking is something I’ve always enjoyed. Since I am an ESL student I need to work on developing this skill continuously. At Schulich through the i/BBA Case Competition Program, I have seen some amazing presentations by my classmates, all of whom have a unique way of presenting. Many of them had the honor to represent Schulich at this year’s JDCC Case Competition and I was glad to see how JDCC helped them to grow.
I also hope to experience this amazing youth opportunity in the remaining two years of my undergraduate life. So, in preparation, this summer time I took the course “Communication, Presentation skills and Voice” (AP CLTR 2420) as my elective. As Business students, we all like to improve our presentation skills – even if we consider it our strength. If you’re enrolling in courses for next year (or often nervous giving presentations!) my feedback may help.
Why is Public Speaking So Hard?
I think the biggest barrier students face regarding public speaking is a lack of confidence. Here I must acknowledge and appreciate the creativity of the instructor, Professor Chris Cornish. From the very beginning he created a positive atmosphere in class so everyone could feel confident enough to participate.
The fear of being wrong creates a type of vulnerability among us. I felt that he tried to break this barrier by engaging us in team activities in almost every class where we would perform interesting and new physical activities. Since almost everyone was new to each other, this practice of communicating with new individuals helped us to overcome the fear gradually.
Me with the instructor, Professor Chris Cornish
How AP CLTR 2420 Helped
We learned about different types of presentation methods such as persuasive speech, impromptu speech and how to structure our presentations in those formats whenever required. If I have to deliver an elevator pitch in the future I will remember the PREP format I learned for delivering an impromptu speech. In addition, we also had the opportunity to see ourselves presenting on video and analyze our performance for areas of improvement. It was a completely new experience for some of us to see ourselves in front of a camera while delivering a speech. We also analyzed videos of our peers and provided them with constructive feedback about distracting mannerisms, maintaining a solid structure and finishing on time. This exercise developed our insight on how to critically analyze a speech while taking away useful points from it effectively.
Since we were involved in many team activities and the entire course required a lot of participation in class, at the end everyone was really emotional. We all hugged and congratulated each other. This is a course I will always remember.
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