It’s a common belief that being able to present in front of others is a great skill to master for any profession, and the NJIT Public Speaking Club is here to make that an easier goal to achieve! The club’s most prominent objectives are to help students improve their confidence onstage and to transfer the skills attained to other parts of their personal and professional lives.
Weekly meetings entail activities that require students to speak up in front of a crowd, according to club co-president Darshan Danak, third-year biology major. “We incorporate games, ice breakers, and even speeches,” he said. “We also provide constructive criticism to those who want it.”
He commented that the speeches given and criticism provided make him most proud. “I am equally proud of the fact that the club provided a friendly environment — none of our members have complained about our activities being too intimidating or nerve-wracking,” he added.
Vice president of the club and third-year mathematical sciences major Meer Kenia first joined the organization to learn new skills and meet new people. “My favorite part of the club is the ice breaker session at the start of each meeting. We create a bunch of random fun questions about many different topics, and it is always very interesting to hear everyone’s responses to each question,” he stated.
“The environment is very laid-back and encourages everyone to participate and speak,” said club public relations and social media officer Alan Nguyen, a third-year biology major. “At the same time, those who become more confident have the opportunity to challenge themselves further with activities of higher intensity, such as receiving a random topic from the audience and then coming up with a speech on the go for that topic.”
Nguyen provided a recent example of this incidence. “Someone gave a speech on their favorite type of chip to eat,” he recalled. “Right after they finished, one of the club members immediately volunteered to speak and they intentionally improvised on why the first speaker’s favorite chip was their most hated one to eat.”
One of Kenia’s most memorable instances was a collaborative story activity. “One person started the story and each person got up one after another and continued the story in their own way. It was cool to see how creative everyone was, and we all had a blast,” he added.
While the organization is still in its beginning stages, it’s preparing a semester of meetings and events to grow its membership and presence on campus. To learn more and get in touch with the club, feel free to join its Discord server at https://discord.gg/GeAMnqz6ej.
