You can choose the best public speaking workshop by researching the backgrounds of the workshop instructors to learn about their approaches to this topic. Some public speaking workshops focus on building confidence for beginning speakers who experience excessive anxiety. Other workshops concentrate on teaching more experienced speakers how to come up with compelling topics and presentations. The best public speaking workshop is generally one that has a supportive and encouraging environment for speakers of any level, and it also offers plenty of chances for practice and constructive feedback.
Many people learn the most from a public speaking workshop that combines a lecture format with practical exercises for attendees to apply what they learned from the instructor's presentation. A public speaking instructor will often begin a workshop with a presentation about topics such as the common fear of public speaking, frequent mistakes that speakers make, and effective ways to overcome anxiety. One of these workshops may also have a question and answer session that affords participants advice for their individual concerns about giving speeches.
Choosing the best public speaking workshop also depends on your objectives for improving your speaking skills. Since nervousness in front of an audience is such a frequent problem, you often have plenty of available workshops to help you become a calmer and more confident speaker. While many speaking coaches emphasize regular practice, the most effective ones also teach the correct techniques to incorporate into that speech practice. In addition to overcoming anxiety, you can also enroll in public speaking workshops that teach communication techniques for establishing professional credibility and for keeping your audience's interest.
A small-scale public speaking workshop is often one that has the most benefits due to the level of individual attention. Workshops with fewer than 12 attendees usually allow an experienced speaking coach to spend some one-on-one time working with each participant. These types of speaking seminars may meet two or three times a week for a few months, or they may also have more intensive day-long sessions over a period of one or two days.
Time and cost are often other factors that you may consider before deciding on the best public speaking workshop for your individual goals. Some speaking seminars can be more expensive than others, so you want to be sure that the skills you learn will be worth the investment. The best speaking workshops also teach effective material in a reasonable time frame that fits with your job or school obligations.