Insights

To become a good public speaker, or to build skills needed for good public speaking, you need to use reliable knowledge for each of the needed skill (content, delivery and authority), and obtain feedback from reliable experts (see chapter 1, Fundamentals of Public Speaking chapter in Mastering Public Speaking and Presentations).

Step by step:

1. Choose a course that uses reliable (science-based) methods
2. Choose a professor or trainer with [traceable] multidisciplinary expertise
3. Build the skills under the supervision of the expert
4. Practice the skills independently
5. Return to the reliable expert for feedback and consolidating the skills.

To remove fear of public speaking, first you need to:

• Know that confidence is a complex trait needing complex intervention, for example, requiring interdisciplinary approaches from experts with knowledge on human behaviour (genetics and psychology)
• Protect from misleading promises – complex traits cannot be addressed with shortcuts
• Appreciate or accept that building skills for public speaking is generally a prerequisite to being confident in public speaking

Step by step:

• Choose a professor or trainer with [traceable] multidisciplinary expertise
• Build the skills under the supervision of the educator
• Practice the skills independently
• Return to the reliable expert for feedback and consolidating the skills

See chapter 7, Managing Fear and Building Confidence, in Mastering Public Speaking and Presentations.

The process for becoming confident at public speaking, is the same as that of removing fear of public speaking, with some minor differences.

Step by step:

• Understand in depth how confidence works
• Protect from misleading promises
• Build public speaking skills under the supervision of a reliable professor or trainer
• Practice the skills independently
• Return to the reliable expert for feedback and consolidating the skills

See chapter 7, Managing Fear and Building Confidence, in Mastering Public Speaking and Presentations).

To assess if a decision, answer the following questions:

• What fields of practice are directly related to my decision? For example, if you are deciding whether your child should take extra lessons in their playtime, you need knowledge on human development, including behavioural genetics, how the brain learns and psychology (see Deep by narrow… paper cited)
• Do I have sufficient knowledge on each of these fields?
• What is the origin of my knowledge in each of these fields?

Selita, F. and Kovas, Y. 2026. ‘Deep but Narrow, Wide but Shallow: Unidisciplinary vs Multidisciplinary Knowledge and Decision-Making’. Legal Issues Journal (UK) 11 (1). https://legalissuesjournal.com/article/4326

Decision-making can be improved, including significantly, with small reliable interventions, including:

• Learn how to assess your readiness to take a reliable decision on a particular matter (see also How do I know if my decisions are good or reliable above)
• Appreciate that reliable decisions require deep and wide knowledge in fields that related to that decision (see Deep but Narrow… paper cited)
• Know that a brain’s capacity changes – has peeks and dips, including within a short time
• Consult with people with the required expertise.
• Get a general understanding about what makes a good decision (see Deep but Narrow… paper cited)

Selita, F. and Kovas, Y. 2026. ‘Deep but Narrow, Wide but Shallow: Unidisciplinary vs Multidisciplinary Knowledge and Decision-Making’. Legal Issues Journal (UK) 11 (1). https://legalissuesjournal.com/article/4326

This is one of toughest challenges for humans, requiring sophisticated interventions.

• Becoming a good decision-maker requires much. The answer is concisely summarised in the paper:

Selita, F. and Kovas, Y. 2026. ‘Deep but Narrow, Wide but Shallow: Unidisciplinary vs Multidisciplinary Knowledge and Decision-Making’. Legal Issues Journal (UK) 11 (1). https://legalissuesjournal.com/article/4326

Ethical decision require intention to do good to all parties affected, [and] capability to assess the impact of the decision on the affected parties at the time of the decision and in the future.

Step by step:

• Ask: do I genuinely wish that my decision is beneficial to all the parties affected, and in any event, not harmful to any of the parties
• Assess what fields of practice are directly related to your decision. For example, if you are deciding whether your child should take extra lessons in their playtime, you need knowledge on human development, including behavioural genetics, how the brain learns and psychology.
• Assess if you have sufficient knowledge on each of these fields?
• Identify the origin of my knowledge in each of these fields, and if it is from reliable sources
• Seek expert advice from experts capable of interdisciplinary approaches i.e. experts with multidisciplinary expertise in the relevant areas

See chapter 9, Ethics in Public Speaking and Advocacy, in Mastering Public Speaking and Presentations.