We are your classmates, peers, and buddies in the barracks. We are veteran, graduate, and exchange students. In other words, we are students, too. We know how hectic life is at The Citadel and beyond, so we make sure to make the most of your time.
In order for us to do that, we ask that you:
- Book an appointment via WCONLINE. While walk-ins are always welcome, it really helps us prepare for your appointment when we know more information.
- Take notes on what we say and ask questions frequently. While we are not professors and the Lab is not a classroom, you only have so much time and will be doing most of the speech prep outside of the Lab. If you listen to what we say, write down what you understand, and ask when you don’t understand, your ability to succeed is much higher than if you came into the Lab for some “pointers.”
- Participate when we ask for it. We will provide background information and guidance, but we will not write a speech or design a presentation for you. In fact, most of our appointments require you to “build” a speech one part at a time by yourself. Then we come in and give you more guidance, and the process repeats itself. This helps you understand how to prepare for any type of communication when you leave the Lab.
- Don’t leave without practicing. Our tutors will manage your time during the appointment, but it is up to you to make sure that you end by getting up and delivering something. You may not have the entire speech completed, but trust us: practicing makes everyone feel better. It helps identify what is working and what is not working. It eliminates a lot of the voices in our heads that doubt our ability to speak in front of others. That leads to our final point…
- Give yourself a chance. If you have anxiety when it comes to public speaking, join the club! Just remember that the secret of anxiety is that it pushes you away from whatever causes your anxiety. Just a think about that for a second: the more anxious you are, the more you avoid the anxiety. That means that most people with a public speaking anxiety avoid it all together which just makes it worse. We help you deal with it by sharing stories, strategies, and mindsets that will change your thinking and approach. However, it is up to you to push yourself once in the Lab.
