Students’ Confidence, Personality Development, and Communication Competence: Essence of Communication and Public Speaking Workshop

Abstract

Effective communication and public speaking skills are essential for students’ academic participation, confidence and professional readiness. This study assessed undergraduate students’ perceptions of a three-day communication and public speaking workshop conducted at NAHEP, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, from 16 to 18 April 2026. A descriptive survey design was used, with purposive sampling to select students who were interested in developing communication competencies and had not previously attended formal public speaking training. Of the 40 students enrolled, feedback was obtained from 21 consenting respondents, giving a response rate of 52.5%. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire comprising 12 five-point Likert-scale items and open-ended questions on perceived confidence changes and suggestions for improvement. Responses were analysed using percentage analysis, mean score, standard deviation and weighted mean ranking in Microsoft Excel. The findings indicated favourable participant evaluations across workshop content, trainer communication, activities, pacing, learning environment and overall satisfaction, with mean scores ranging from 4.38 to 4.76. The learning environment received the highest mean score, whereas activities related to speaking confidence received the lowest but still positive mean score. Self-reported low confidence declined from 57.14% before the workshop to 0.00% after the workshop, while high confidence increased from 9.52% to 47.62%. The results suggest that structured, activity-based workshops may support students’ perceived communication confidence, although findings should be interpreted cautiously because of the small sample, self-reported data and absence of a control group.