Here’s an interesting article that I just ran across while researching trends in Public Speaking. Lisa B. Marshall identifies 7. I paraphrase these in brief but the article is worth reading especially if you’re teaching public speaking.

1.       Public speaking in the business world is becoming more casual.

2.       Audiences no longer can be viewed as passive recipients of a speaker’s message but are listeners who want to participate.

3.       Speakers are addressing smaller audiences with more focused presentations.

4.       Webinars are increasing but so are live presentations.

5.       Videos are being increasingly incorporated into public speaking presentations.

6.       Technology is playing an ever increasing role in public speaking.

7.       The white board’s “less polished” presentation can help the speaker appear more approachable.