Confident Speech? But Like, Aren’t You in a Sorority?

(Contributed by Tatum Dyar, amazing intern, Bethany College student and Alpha Xi Delta sorority sister.)

When you think of sorority life, you may imagine the stereotypical flakey, catty, self-involved sorority girls you see in the movies and on TV. In my experience, that is far from the truth. Sorority life not only provides young women with a chance to make lifelong friends through sisterhood, but also provides a safe environment, empowering us to face the world with confidence, speaking up and out when it matters —which it always does.  Whether you are a new member or a long-term sister, sororities give you never-ending opportunities to develop strong speaking skills.

As a member of a sorority at Bethany College, I have found a whole new level of self confidence.  There have been many times where strong communication skills have been required, such as recruitment or chapters.  I joined our executive committee as Finance and Operations Vice President and am in charge of communicating all financial and secretarial information to the chapter. This requires a high level of clarity and confidence.  Greek life constantly has pushed me to strengthen my speech and help my sisters as well.

I do also have an app that allows me to practice my speech – for presentations, interviews, meetings – and it helps bring awareness to my verbal habits (like, you know, totally!) I learned about the LikeSo: Your Personal Speech Coach from my communications professor, and it’s like having a personal speech coach in your pocket! It’s great to have an app other than Snapchat and Instagram that actually helps me be successful in my communication.  

As a passionate believer in the value of strong communication skills – especially for women, I was excited about the LikeSo app and asked my professor if he knew if the company behind the app offered internships. And, boom! This past summer I interned for Say It Media. 

I learned from its female founder/CEO, Audrey Mann Cronin, how vital communication is in any part of life, and especially for women whose speech is often judged more harshly than their male counterparts.  

I decided to survey my sorority sisters – both in my house and others – to get their insights on speaking with with confidence and whether Greek Life had an impact:

Gabrielle, Phi Mu: 

“Sorority life gives you the confidence to speak up and bond with girls to achieve a common goal. On our campus, Greek Recruitment is the greatest opportunity for this to take place because members of sororities are required to communicate to large amounts of girls to share what their sorority means to them and gain members.  Speech within sorority life builds that confidence and better communication skills.”

Olivia, Zeta Tau Alpha:

Olivia talked about the many situations where sorority women have to speak to people they know and don’t know.  She said, “Sorority life gives women these unique opportunities that can be challenging, but ultimately build a better sense of self and experience that can be translated to all walks of life.  By being an outgoing sorority woman, I build confidence for myself, my sisters,and my national sorority.”

Celesté, Alpha Xi Delta:

Celesté spoke about how leadership positions in her sorority had given her the opportunity to develop and strengthen her communication skills.  She said, “Without these positions, I would not have gained the confidence I currently have.” Celesté also mentioned how this confidence in her speech had followed her outside of her sorority and into her everyday life.

As you can see, sorority sisters from all kinds of different backgrounds value the power of confident speech!  Sorority life helps young women encourage each other to become better prepared for their futures. So yes, I am “like, totally” in a sorority, and I speak with confidence!