Business Communication and Public Speaking in the ESP Domain: some considerations

The aim of this paper relates to the implications of introducing Public Speaking as a specific English for Purposes (ESP) domain in teaching and learning Business Communication (BC). Background literature on this topic provides a useful frame for understanding and justifying the origins of the subject and the arena in which studies on public speaking in business English then emerged. In addition to that, an overview of the business workplace skills required by corporate communities at present demonstrates that public speaking in the teaching and learning of English for Business Purposes cannot be ignored. The study underlines the strong need for a focused reflection on the impact of good oratorical skills in business communication in English. Due to the varied and complex nature of business communication, however, public speaking studies and programs should be targeted for the audience, and not standardized or copied from models which are suitable to a non-business context.