Professional Development Topics ➜ Public Speaking


Title & Content Type Due Date
Pre-meeting Assignment

Reflect upon and jot down your responses to the following questions:

  • What situations in your academic and professional life do/will involve public speaking? 
  • Reflect upon your last few experiences with public speaking. What skills were involved? What went well? What could you improve upon?
  •  What public speaking role are you currently preparing for, and how are you preparing for this role?
  • What skills or techniques would you like to work on with your mentor?
Pre Meeting After 0 Days
Meeting One - Conversation Starters
  • In what ways is public speaking a skill you use in your academic/professional career? 
  • What do you think are the keys to connecting with your audience?
  • Who are your favorite speakers to watch/listen to, and why? Are there any highly visible speakers that you follow or have inspired or influenced your own speaking style?
  • How did you develop your verbal and non-verbal skills for speaking in front of groups? 
  •  What public speaking role are you currently preparing for, and what suggestions do you have?

REMINDER: During this meeting, you must discuss a time to schedule Meeting 2, please refer to the Timeline below for the date for Meeting 2 and work with each other to schedule time for Meeting 2 on the date indicated in the Timeline item: Meeting Two – Conversation Starters.

Event After 0 Days
Deliverable
  • Share the draft presentation, speech, outline, or other content you plan to use for your upcoming public speaking role with your mentor.  
  • In a separate document, provide your mentor with more information about the upcoming role by answering the following questions:
    • What is your speaking role? For instance, are you delivering a presentation (solo or as a group), delivering a speech, participating in a public discussion or debate?
    • What is the context of the speaking role? Is this in-person or virtual? Who is the audience?
    • What is your objective? For instance, is there a specific call to action, or point of view you want others to consider?
    • Practice delivering the presentation/speech/etc. What areas do you feel confident in? What areas would you like guidance from your mentor?
Submission Required After 11 Days
Meeting Two- Conversation Starters
  • Can you practice the delivery with your mentor as the audience?
    • What strengths did you demonstrate in your content and delivery? What worked?
    • How could you improve upon the next iteration?
  • Have you ever had a public speaking engagement that didn’t go as well as you hoped? How did you handle it?
  • What practices can you recommend for dealing with nervousness when speaking to groups?
  • What strategies do you use to continue honing your skills? Are there any courses, workshops, role models, or other resources that are/have been helpful?

REMINDER: During this meeting, you must discuss a time to schedule Meeting 3, please refer to the Timeline below for the date for Meeting 3 and work with each other to schedule time for Meeting 3 on the date indicated in the Timeline item: Meeting Three – Conversation Starters.

Event After 13 Days
Final Deliverable

Write a thank-you email letter to your mentor that details your thoughts on the following:

  • What you value/appreciate about and learned from the mentoring experience.
  • Your next steps for preparing for the upcoming speaking role.
  • Two strategies you plan to adopt to continue developing your public speaking skills.
Submission Required After 18 Days
Meeting Three - Conversation Starters
  • What feedback can you the Mentor offer on the Final Deliverable?
  • What questions do you the Mentee have for the Mentor?
  • What are the next steps in continuing to develop the knowledge, skills, strategies, etc. you’ve been working on?
Event After 20 Days
Post-Engagement Survey

Mentors and Mentees please use the following link to complete the Post-Engagement Survey

Evaluation After 21 Days