When you’re assigned a class presentation, think twice before dismissing it as an unimportant part of your education. Employers look for speaking skills in job applicants, who may have to give presentations to clients or represent their organization in the field. It’s never too soon to practice good eye contact and other public speaking techniques.

According to the Book of Lists, the fear of public speaking ranks number one in the minds of the majority of people. Far above the fear of death and disease, comes the fear of standing in front of a crowd. Joel Weiner noted author and public speaker wants to help people overcome that fear.

“The biggest fear is public speaking, with 15 percent of American experiencing a dramatic fear of it,” said Dr. Michael Telch of the Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders (LSAD) in the Department of Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin. “People have had to turn down jobs, and certainly students have dropped classes because of it.”

Regardless of your occupation, your success depends a great deal upon you ability to communicate effectively! Whether you’re running a meeting, selling a product, making a presentation, motivating co-workers or just communicating one-on-one with others, you’ll get far better results if you can speak persuasively, smoothly and intelligently.