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Ellen and I attended the second of six sessions offered by the PDC on Public Speaking and Presenting today. Because I was the only one who hadn’t given my 3 minute speech on an assigned topic yet, I gave my speech today. (The rest of the 15 attendees had to give their speech with very little preparation, in the same hour long class last week.) Then, after an introduction on the elements and differences between informative and persuasive speeches, the rest of the class was all preparation for the speeches we must give next week. For next week we are to prepare a 4-5 minute informative speech on any topic of our choice. (My topic: Community Gardens!) The presenter and Andrea Ellis came around to give pointers on what our speeches should contain. They did warn us though that we needed to practice our speeches in front of a mirror and with a stopwatch. They will cut us off at 5 minutes! The exercise is meant to emulate creating an elevator speech. The group is visibly getting more comfortable with the material and with each other, so it promises to be a very engaging class next week!