A few days ago, a friend of mine asked me, "Why would you say that public speaking courses are important?" I should mention that this person has worked with me throughout my adventures in speech for the past five years, and so she knew that I would have a strong opinion to this. I remember saying something fairly generic, the type of thing that teachers have been telling their students for years in order to trick them into thinking that public speaking is cool. However, this got me thinking. In our modern, computerized world, is public speaking even relevant anymore?

People often make the mistake of assuming that speech is only useful for class projects or giving a presentation at work, sometime in the distant future. Some think that it will become completely useless, now that we have webcams that can record our presentations, allowing us to correct and edit them as much as we need. Public speaking is so much more than just the presentation of information, though. It directly relates with how you interact with people, whether inside or outside of the classroom.

For example, by becoming a skilled speaker, you will notice a dramatic spike in your confidence levels. Most college courses require a certain level of participation, yet some people would rather take a low grade than raise their hand to speak. I may not be a "people person," and I may not even know what I'm talking about 90 percent of the time, but I can confidently raise my hand and form at least a couple of coherent sentences with ease, if it increases my chances of getting an A.

Now, I may be a little biased on this issue. Speech is one of my passions, and I already jump at any opportunity to give a presentation. Still, I wasn't always this way. A few years ago, I was just like everyone else in this regard; I definitely would have been one of those people who checked the "public speaking" box on my list of greatest fears, instead of "death." The main reason I love it so much is because I had to learn to love it. Like any skill, public speaking is something that you can improve with practice. The more you practice, the better you get, and the more you'll like it. After four years and six public speaking courses in high school, I feel like I can handle any presentation that my professors can throw at me.

So, in short, why should you sign up for as many public speaking courses as you can? They give you the confidence to communicate with others in a way that will help you out immensely in the long run. As someone who used to have high levels of speech anxiety, trust me. This is the best thing you can possibly do to improve yourself as a speaker. If you want a confidence boost like you wouldn't believe, load your course schedule with public speaking, sit back, and enjoy the results.