80. Public Speaking Classes
There should be classes at various levels of the educational system that force people to overcome their fear of speaking in front of large groups of people by forcing them to talk to another student or instructor while in front of the group. The instructor may guide the discussion and use methods to wean students from their fear and allowing them to think and reason clearly, without the crippling fear, associated with being in front of a large group. Multiple discussions could take place at different tables in prominent locations in front of a large group of people. These discussions could even take place in a setting like a restaurant where many people may not even be paying attention to the conversation. The important thing is that the student sees a large group of people and gets the feeling as if many of those people are paying attention. The professor could diffuse the student’s fear by using all kinds of methods like explaining that even as they talk, some people are sleeping, daydreaming, reading something or just not paying attention, or talking to someone else. Others perhaps couldn’t care less about the discussion. These methods may relieve a great deal of tension from the students and aid in their having clearer thoughts and better reasoning abilities while in front of people.