By Emily Laermer, Staff Writer
Americans fear public speaking.
”People just don’t feel confident or comfortable getting in front of a large group,” said Judith Hutton, the CEO of the YWCA in Princeton.
The YWCA is hosting its Presentation Skills for Professional Women course this fall, beginning on Sept. 9. The class debuted in the spring, and Ms. Hutton was one of the eight women in the class. The class is intentionally small in order to give the students more personalized attention, she said.
”I learned different ways to conduct myself and how to look and act in front of an audience,” said Ms. Hutton, who considers herself to be a good public speaker.
The course instructor, Gordon Jacoby, meets with all of his students both as a group and individually in order to create and gauge their goals.
”The course is designed to teach professional women something about presentation skills and to become stronger speakers,” Mr. Jacoby said. “It’s an easy flowing course. There is no competition in the classes. I just want them to be more refined in speech, be clear and develop confidence.”
Mr. Jacoby said that this course is important because it teaches the women how to get ahead in the corporate world.
”Traditionally men are given more encouragement coming up the ladder of the corporate world,” he said. “It is important to focus on women these days.”
Mr. Jacoby also teaches the students how speech can affect how others see them.
”Sometimes they are uninteresting, disorganized or not lively,” he said. “Some particular speech habits or usage call attention to themselves inappropriately. I strive to eliminate that.”
Some individuals have speech habits that call attention to the way they speak, as opposed to the messages they are relaying.
In order to eliminate this, Mr. Jacoby has the students present speeches, perform songs and recite poetry to their classmates. The students also work on pronunciation, projection and posture.
”He gives you a situation where you are a little uncomfortable, but you learn to be a natural,” Ms. Hutton said. “He has an exceptional way of making it very comfortable and so you can laugh at yourself.”
Mr. Jacoby has also worked with hundreds of film and theater actors, including Nicolas Cage, Danny Glover and Olympia Dukakis.
”Working with any actor is exciting,” he said. “They have wonderful personalities and creative energies.”
Mr. Jacoby helps these actors develop speech and accents appropriate for roles they are playing.
”I teach them to create a whole other character with sounds or foreign speech,” he said. “The speech helps you learn something about the character.”
Working with the women at the YWCA, though, is just as thrilling as working with the actors, Mr. Jacoby said.
”I love working with the women,” he said. “It’s exciting to work with people who are enthusiastic and who let go. Once they have a small measure of success, more follows quickly.”
Ms. Hutton is one of the students who saw improvements in herself after the eight-week course.
”I have seen more confidence in myself,” she said. “Even the head of the board of directors said something about it, and she didn’t even know I was taking the class.”
In November, Mr. Jacoby will also teach a voice and movement course at the YWCA which will be focus on both professional and social situations.
The eight-week-long Presentation Skills for Professional Women course will begin Sept. 9 and will be held in the YWCA library. The course costs $190 for YWCA members and $225 for non-members. The class is limited to eight students, but there are still a few open spots. To register, call 609-497-2100.

