PUBLIC SPEAKING CLASSES WORTH THE INVESTMENT--IF YOU FIND THE RIGHT ONE.

• Author: Siebrase, Jamie
• Position: STATE OF THE STATE

It doesn't matter if you're standing up before one client or an audience of 1,000: You have a message that needs to be conveyed effectively. But can public speaking really be taught?

That question has been the subject of ongoing debate, and plenty of executives have walked away from speech coaches feeling dissatisfied, to say the least.

Denver Arts & Venues Deputy Director Ginger White questioned the efficacy of public speaking classes, but she needed help preparing for a presentation she'd be delivering to the mayor and Denver City Council. So White signed up for a multi-class public speaking course through Denver Center for the Performing Arts. She was blown away by the broad, practical skills she acquired.

"Anybody is capable of captivating an audience," says Allison Watrous, DCPA's executive director of education.

And public speaking skills aren't just for CEOs and top executives. "Employees down the chain see how the ability to be persuasive correlates with success," says speech pathologist Elizabeth Peterson, owner of Speech and Voice Enterprises and author of "How to Speak like a Broadcaster and Lead like a CEO."

There are two prongs to public speaking: what you say--and the way you say it."Great speakers tell great stories," Watrous says. Sign up for corporate training or public speaking classes at DCPA, and you'll have plenty of time to work on crafting your content as professional actors lead you in kinesthetic (read: super-fun) storytelling exercises.

But being an effective public speaker isn't just about what you say--it's about how you say it, too. Whether you're learning to control your fight or flight instinct through breath work, or you're weeding out pauses and "ums," public speaking is all about technique. "Fine tuning little things has an incredible impact," Watrous says.

Peterson's courses dive...