Public Speaking and Leadership
Public speaking and leadership are powerful skills that can help you stand out, make an impact, and communicate confidently with the people around you. This camp is designed to help you strengthen these skills and give you tools you can use in school, in activities, and throughout your life.
Throughout the week, we will focus on developing strong presentation skills to help you manage stage fright, project confidence, and communicate with intention. You will learn how to use posture, gestures, facial expressions, and presence to become a more compelling speaker, along with vocal techniques such as tone, emphasis, and purposeful pausing.
Leadership development will be woven through everything we do. You’ll learn how to structure and deliver effective speeches, organize information for clarity, and communicate ideas that motivate an audience. Beyond formal speaking, you’ll practice key leadership communication skills such as navigating conflict, building positive interpersonal relationships, and managing group dynamics.
We will also work on interview communication—an important space where leadership and public speaking skills come together—so you can present your most confident and authentic self.
By the end of the week, you’ll feel more confident as a speaker and have a clearer,stronger understanding of what it means to lead through communication. You’ll know how to research, organize, and deliver a speech with ease, resolve conflict, listen deeply, and make a strong impression in interviews. Our goal is to help you build the public speaking and leadership skills that will set you up for success far beyond this camp—and we hope you’ll join us!
2026 Tentative Schedule
Download the Public Speaking & Advocacy Daily Schedule
Divisions, Dates, and Pricing
| Section | Dates | In-Person | Commuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Speaking | June 28 - July 3 | $1,350 | $1000 |
Division Director
Dr. Karen Anderson-Lain
Dr. Karen Anderson-Lain is a Principal Lecturer & Basic Communication Course Director at University of North Texas (UNT). Dr. Anderson-Lain has over 28 years’ experience teaching in higher education.
She has coached collegiate Parliamentary debate and individual events. As a former Director of Forensics and coach, she had members qualify for nationals at the national Parliamentary Debate Tournament (multiple elimination round teams), the National Forensics Association Tournament (Impromptu, Extemporaneous, POI), and the AFA National Speech Tournament (Impromptu, Extemporaneous Speaking, Poetry, POI, Finals Persuasion).
Dr. Anderson-Lain coordinates the large introduction to communication course, coordinates graduate teaching assistant training, and teaches undergraduate courses in conflict management, intercultural communication, interpersonal communication, and communication theory at UNT.
Dr. Anderson-Lain has been nationally recognized for her teaching and mentoring by the National Communication Association as a Teacher on Teaching Honoree. She has been awarded the UNT Foundation Outstanding Lecturer Award and the President’s Council Service Award at UNT.