Exercise 1: Communication Apprehension

At least two organizations provide public speaking training for business and professional people who did not take a course in college. Businesses often pay their employees to take Dale Carnegie Training which includes public speaking. Individuals may join Toastmasters, an national organization for individuals who wish to practice and improve their public speaking skills. Look for the Carnegie Training at www.dalecarnegie.com and for Toastmasters at www.toastmasters.org where you will find useful tips to overcome communication apprehension.

Exercise 2: Source Credibility

How do your own political positions influence what sources you find credible? Go to two contrasting online newspapers to see which opinion pages you find most appealing. Two examples would be www.washingtonpost.com, widely perceived as liberal in its orientation and www.washingtontimes.com, widely perceived as conservative in its orientation. Look at the two opinion pages on the same day to see how the two papers treat a particular issue. Do you tend to find more credible those sources with which you agree?