Episode 079 — Know You Can Do It and Meet Dr. Denise Vaughan

'You're doing this every single day. You talk all the time. You can absolutely talk in front of a group of people.' -- Denise Vaughan #forensics #publicspeaking #anxiety Click To Tweet

2-Minute Tip — Know You can do It

 

The first thing to know about a talk is that this IS something you can do. You can get out on stage. You can move around deliberately to make the points that you want to make. If you’re not comfortable with eye contact, that’s fine. You can come up with a solution.

 

But regardless of the challenges, go into it knowing that you can do this.

'Everybody understands this is a fear -- the number one fear in America. I honestly think it should be spiders.' -- Denise Vaughan #forensics #publicspeaking #fear #anxiety Click To Tweet

Post Tip Discussion — Meet Denise Vaughan

 

Denise and I were both members of the Carroll College Talking Saints Speech and Debate team back in the early 90s. Being a part of that team was a powerful experience that had a major impact on the person I am today. The things I learned and skills I acquired as part of that experience are the ones that I still use today.

 

Denise Vaughan headshot

Denise and I recently met up in real life for the first time since college to catch up and talk about public speaking, speech and debate, and the power of rhetoric.

 

We recorded this episode at one of my favorite interview locations — the Wayward Coffeehouse in Seattle.

 

Dr. Denise Vaughan has a BA from Carroll College and an MA and PhD from Washington State University. Today, she teaches courses in Debate, Oral Communication, and Debate and Policy Analysis at the University of Washington — Bothell.  Denise is a firm believer in the ability of rhetoric to shape the world and empower students.  Through the use of a variety of outside sources and the interests of students themselves, she seeks to create connections between the world they study in the classroom and their interactions outside the classroom.  She sees the classroom as a collaborative experience where students and faculty interact with the material and educate one another.  Her courses focus on experiential learning and problem solving. Denise is also the Director of Forensics, at University of Washington Bothell, and coaches the award-winning, nationally ranked Speech and Debate team.

 

'Students are awesome and exhausting. And challenging in ways that I would never challenge myself.' -- Denise Vaughan #forensics #publicspeaking #college #teaching Click To Tweet

Links

 

'Argument is not a fight.' -- Denise Vaughan #publicspeaking #debate #forensics Click To Tweet

Call To Action

 

  • What are your thoughts on this episode? Let us know in the comments below.
  • You can connect with Denise via email or LinkedIn. You can find those links above.
  • Do you know a high school or college student thinking about speech and debate? Encourage them to try it at their school. The value is immense.
  • Share this episode with someone else by giving them the link http://2minutetalktips.com/denise
  • Don’t get best…get better
'Public speaking -- it doesn't kill you as a general rule.' -- Denise Vaughan #forensics #publicspeaking #anxiety Click To Tweet

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