Rosie, a senior at Baruch College, is finally taking her required Speech Communication course! Although she didn’t intentionally avoid taking the course throughout her two years at the school, she was not eager to include it in her schedule either. Being an accounting major does not provide many opportunities for her to gain experience as an effective public communicator. She has had to participate in about a handful of assignments involving presentations and speeches throughout her college career, but mainly in groups. While working with others was a great way to improve her communication skills in general, it does not prepare you for the same amount of pressure you are under when giving a speech individually. This course will be her chance to improve those skills she is lacking in.

During class, Rosie is carefree about participating in group discussions. She feels that there is much less pressure when you are seated and discussing amongst your classmates. However, when she is placed in front of the room with all eyes on her, her nerves skyrocket. No matter how much she prepares, she still can’t help but feel the pressure of everybody staring at her. When she begins her presentations, she tends to mix up what she’s prepared to talk about, causing her ideas to be much less concise than she had originally planned. Her cheeks sometimes get a bit rosy in front of everybody because she worries she won’t be able to make the point that she was supposed to.

Despite these setbacks, Rosie tends to be good at projecting her voice to ensure that the entire audience can hear what she has to say. Once Rosie can maintain the confidence of an effective public speaker, her quality research and ideas will be become much more persuasive and meaningful than they currently are.