“For this term, you must prepare to present your work in front of the class”. During their university years, hearing this from a professor would leave some eVerythinkers quaking in their boots. Simply the idea of speaking in front of 100 classmates was enough to make our stomachs turn, to the point where we couldn´t even eat dinner the night before (well, this may be a slight exaggeration, as here at eVerythink PR we are very good eaters).
The fact is that, after 50 exhibitions of experience in media and agencies, we have become more accustomed to speaking in public. However, this skill is not only essential for those who work in the communications field.
At school, we were taught to read and write, writing hundreds of essays and reports throughout our education, but nobody gives us any guidelines on how to communicate orally: Knowing how to argue your point, the correct use of pauses and silences, emphasising certain words… even controlling gestures and tone of voice, makes up 97% of what the listener perceives when listening to you talk, while only 7% of actual words are taken in. Luckily, debate contests are becoming more and more popular in Spanish schools. Also, in countries like the U.S, secondary school students can take classes on public speaking as an optional module.
It goes without saying that the experience gained over years of public speaking helps, a lot, but imagine if, from a young age, we were taught how to speak comfortably in public. Whether you are in a business meeting, an elevator ride with your workmate from the 5th floor, or even in front of 100 people, knowing how to effectively express yourself without fear is a fundamental skill for daily business life, no matter what field we work in, but especially within the communications sphere.