Public Speaking Classes
Get to know our wonderful speech instructors
Stephanie Freeman (Director)
has a successful background in competitive speech and has taught courses at BYU since 1990. Currently, as the supervisor of the speech program, she oversees faculty teaching, training, class scheduling, course curriculum, the “Y Speak” website, and the Biannual Donald Sloan Speech Showcase. Stephanie teaches the STDEV 150 Public Speaking course both on campus and to students from around the world through BYU’s Independent Study program. She has taught communication skills to government organizations, management teams, college faculty, science and engineering student teams, boy scouts, and thousands of college students. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Speech and Rhetoric in 1989 from Brigham Young University and a Master’s in Communications in 1992. Stephanie empathizes with students who have to work hard at learning speech skills or who suffer from anxiety. She was painfully shy throughout her youth and worked diligently to succeed in speaking. Her experience with speech competition started in high school where she eventually placed first in state for both Impromptu and DECA; placing fourth at nationals. She was an active member of BYU’s nationally ranked debate team (1985-87), where she won many awards and earned 5th place speaker at CEDA nationals her second year. She then served a full time mission for the LDS church in Frankfurt, Germany (1987-88). She loves to serve others and is actively involved in her community where she serves as a Boy Scout committee chair, merit badge counselor, and a CERT member. She also volunteers as the head music librarian for the talented Lyceum Philharmonic Orchestra; so she can be supportive of her participating children and musical friends. She is a lifetime learner. She enjoys literature, music, educational research, current events, learning new technology, gardening, homemaking, educating her children, laughing, dark European chocolate, and spending time with her family. She and her loving husband, Peter, have four children.
Teisha Vest
has been teaching college Communication courses since 2004. She also teaches at Salt Lake Community College and Western Wyoming Community College. Before Teisha began teaching college, she was involved in sports broadcasting. She worked with local television and radio stations in Salt Lake City. Teisha completed most of her studies at the University of Utah. She has a BS in Communication and a Masters of Education.Teisha has been married for over 5 years to her husband and they have two little boys; Tennyson Dean and Kinkade Thomas. The Vests enjoy traveling, snowboarding, boating, and spending time with their families.
Kurt Mortensen
is one of America’s leading authorities on persuasion, motivation, and influence. He has devoted nearly 20 years to understanding and teaching the traits, habits, and mindset of exceptional achievers. A highly sought after consultant, trainer, seminar leader, and speaker, he excels at combining scientific research with real-world studies and timeless stories to inform, entertain, and inspire audiences. He has shared the stage with Brian Tracy, Mark Victor Hansen, Tom Hopkins and Jim Rohn. He is also the author of several books, including Maximum Influence (AMACOM; 2004), which has been translated into 10 languages. Mortensen earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications/Advertising from Brigham Young University in 1992 and an MBA in Marketing and Consumer Behavior from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993. Then, realizing he hadn’t learned the critical skill of persuasion in college, he set out to educate himself. He attended scores of negotiation and sales seminars, read thousands of studies on human behavior and social psychology, and listened to every audiotape or CD on persuasion-related topics he could find. He sat through innumerable sales presentations, consumer intercepts, and surveys. He sought out top professional persuaders to learn what makes them tick, and monitored their impact on audiences as well. He also scrutinized telemarketing scripts, witnessed closes, and endured offensive old-school tactics. After a decade of amassing research and assessing results, Mortensen wrote PERSUASION IQ: The 10 Skills You Need to Get Exactly What You Want (AMACOM; June 12, 2008), Mortensen puts the secrets of persuasion within easy reach of anyone with the desire and drive to fulfill his or her greatest potential. Kurt Mortensen is also the author of other programs: Perfect Persuasion, Power Negotiation, Persuasive Presentations and Millionaire Psychology, among other books. Take your Persuasion IQ and visit his websites: www.persuasioniq.com,www.persuasioninstitute.com, and http://www.kurtmortensen.com.
Ron D. Wilkinson
competed for B.Y.U.’s nationally ranked debate and speaking team from 1983-1986. He graduated from B.Y.U. in Speech Communication and Rhetoric (1986) and, thereafter, from the J. Reuben Clark School of Law (1989). He began teaching public speaking in 1986 and greatly enjoys being a part of the great traditions at B.Y.U. He has also taught in the departments of Social Work (1994-1998) and Psychology (2002-2005). He has practiced law since 1989 and is the managing partner in Heritage Law Office, Inc. in Orem, Utah. He is a member of the Utah Bar and the United States Supreme Court Bar.He and his wife Vania (Ouzounian) are the parents of eleven amazing children.
Dane Allred
teaches Theatre Foundations, Film History, and Technical Theatre classes at Payson High School. He is also part-time faculty at Brigham Young University where he teaches Public Speaking. A high school version of his public speaking course is also available through BYU’s Independent Study. He has been married for 34 years and has two daughters. Dane has appeared in over 30 movies, 50 stage productions and has directed more than 80 drama productions. An award-winning gardener, he loves working in his yard, selling some of the plants on Ebay, and ships them around the world. A very slow marathon runner, he has completed the St. George Marathon four times. His personal best is two hours slower than the winner of the race.
Kristy Hanson
has been a fan of Brigham Young University since I was a young girl growing up in Rexburg, Idaho. I was thrilled when I received a scholarship to attend BYU. My love for BYU has continued as my husband and I have been faithful members of the Cougar Club since 2003.In 2014, I had an opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. with the J Reuben Clark Law Society where I was admitted to Practice Law in the Supreme Court of the United States. It was an incredible honor and I loved sharing that experience with fellow BYU alumni.
I began my interest in public speaking as a high school student, successfully competing in debate. At a young age, I looked for opportunities to hone my public speaking skills including serving as the Lieutenant Governor at Girl’s State and participating in Youth Legislature and in speech competitions.
Upon graduating from high school, I attended Brigham Young University where I majored in Political Science. I took advantage of public speaking opportunities and I worked as an American Heritage Teaching Assistant and a Political Science teaching assistant. In this capacity, I taught an hour long class to BYU students once per week. In 1996, I enrolled in the Public Speaking class and was selected to participate in the Sloan Speech Showcase. Public Speaking was one of my favorite classes at BYU.
Upon graduating from Brigham Young University in 1998, I moved to Washington D.C. and worked for Senator Orin Hatch on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and attended law school at American University Washington College of Law. In law school, I participated in Moot Court where I qualified for Nationals by making it to the semi-finals in my interschool Moot Court Competition. I later competed in New York at the Gabrielli National Family Law Moot Court competition where my partner and I place third in the Nation.
I have been a practicing lawyer in Utah since 2003. In addition to my practice of law, I also teach continuing legal education classes. I regularly give presentations for National Business Institute. I have given numerous seminars on various family law topics since 2009. In addition, I have presented at BYU education week on multiple occasions. Since 2006, I have been a presenter each year for the prelaw lecture series at BYU and I participate in various lectures and panels at J Reuben Clark School of Law. I have enjoyed working with BYU students and BYU law students who are contemplating the practice of law.
When I am not working or giving presentations, I love spending time with my husband and three children. We enjoy skiing, traveling and attending BYU sporting events. I love the opportunity to work with students at BYU and share my love of public speaking. I am True Blue!
Phil Clark
grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers University and worked as a high school history and speech and debate teacher after moving to Utah. He has taught speech and debate as well as coached competitive teams for over 10 years and has had multiple state championship teams. He is passionate about the value of the critical skills honed in public speaking. He has been teaching public speaking at BYU since 2018. He has been married to his remarkable wife for over 15 years and has 5 amazing boys.
Kristin Gerdy Kyle
is Director of the Rex E. Lee Advocacy Program and Teaching Professor at the J. Reuben Clark Law School. She was recognized by her peers with the R. Wayne Hansen Teaching and Learning Faculty Fellowship, and the Brigham Young University Religious Education Transfer Professor Award, and by students with the SBA First-Year Professor of the Year Award. She is a nationally recognized scholar and serves as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Legal Communication and Rhetoric. Her scholarship focuses on legal education, appellate practice and procedure, oral communication, law and literature, and the integration of religious principals in law. She is active in the wider University Community where she has served on the BYU Women’s Conference Committee, University’s Faculty Advisory Council, the University Professional Rank and Status Council, the University Curriculum Council, and the University Writing Committee. She teaches Public Speaking and has taught religious education courses on campus. She and her husband recently moved to St. George to spend more time with their children.