Our History
The Speaking Center at the University of Illinois was established in August 2022 as a pilot partnership between the University Library and Department of Communication. Demand for individual consultations, workshops, and campus partnerships grew substantially after the Center’s founding, and in 2023, the Center doubled its staff and capacity. The Speaking Center’s quick success proved the need for a student-support program with more resources and a full-time director.
In 2024, the Center hired a full-time faculty director and re-branded itself as the Speakers Workshop to more closely align with the long-established and well-known Writers Workshop, a similar resource providing support for writers across all disciplines and at any stage of the process. Similarly, the Speakers Workshop offers individualized consultations for those preparing for speeches and presentations for any class or professional event. The Speakers Workshop is a welcoming, low-stakes, peer-to-peer environment staffed by graduate and undergraduate students from across our Urbana-Champaign campus. We can assist at any stage of the process, from brainstorming and outlining to delivery practice and visual aid development. We offer in-person consultations in various locations across campus as well as synchronous virtual consultations.
The Speakers Workshop also offers a variety of workshops on topics such as Coping with Communication Apprehension, Effective Visual Aid Design, and Practicing Delivery Skills, among others. Additionally, we can tailor workshops to the unique needs of any class or campus group. For more information or to schedule a workshop or class visit, see our Resources page or contact us at speakersworkshop@illinois.edu.
Our Mission
The purpose of the Speakers Workshop at the University of Illinois is to support a diverse University community with resources to develop effective communication competencies. We provide a low-stakes environment that values peer-to-peer interaction, critical thinking, audience awareness, and transferability of knowledge to other situations and contexts in a process of lifelong learning.
The Speakers Workshop is guided by the core values shared by the Illinois community: we aim high and value excellence in all that we do; we go out of our way be inclusive and treat others with dignity and respect; we hold ourselves accountable; and we encourage innovation, novelty, and creativity.
Our Values
The Speakers Workshop recognizes, welcomes, and celebrates the University of Illinois’ diverse and multicultural campus community. While we can provide feedback on various aspects of organization, preparation, and delivery, we believe there is no one-size-fits-all model of what a “good” speaker looks or sounds like. Effective communication is about connecting with your audience, and our goal is to help you practice and develop skills and competencies to become an effective, authentic, confident communicator in any context or situation.