Karla Jennings

Educator/Teacher

Karla Jennings has been coaching TEDx speakers since 2017. In 2018, she was the opening speaker for TEDxSavannah, with a talk about fear of public speaking. The key to overcoming fear is a mindset that designs a response to fear using what she calls “inoculation messages.” She remains passionate about “ideas worth spreading” through TED Talks. One of two full-time professors for the communication studies major at the Armstrong Campus of Georgia Southern University, she has taught public speaking to more than 2,000 students and has listened to hundreds of speeches. She studied communication and public relations as an undergraduate at Florida State University and then went to rival University of Florida for her master’s degree. She has worked in public relations and marketing for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Unison Industries, and for the Coastal Georgia Center for Continuing Education. She has been teaching fulltime since 2015.

Our local TEDx organization which gives voice to the ideas of those in our area and builds community. Sharing and spreading ideas connects us others. We don't all have to agree, but we can listen and hear each other out. I'm also passionate about helping college students succeed.

We can overcome fear of public speaking by designing a response to fear using “inoculation messages.” Inoculation messages are a change in mindset. When faced with a public speaking scenario, we often tell ourselves things like "I'm going to fail," "No one want to hear what I have to say," and "I'm boring the whole entire audience with my talk." When we replace those negative message with positive ones like, "The audience wants to hear what I have to say," "No one is judging me," and "I've practice and prepared and I can do this," then something wonderful happens. Inoculation messages prepare us to perceive what we expect to receive. We expect to do well, and so we pick out cues from our audience that confirm that we are doing well. It really works!

Communication, Public Speaking

In 2017, I had the pleasure to helping a student tell her story on the TEDxSavannah stage. That year, I volunteered to help coach other speakers too, and I have been coaching local speakers ever since. In 2018, I was challenged by my students to apply to be a speaker, and so I did. My talk "Designing a Response to Fear of Public Speaking" was the opening talk for our 2018 event where the theme was Legacy by Design. In 2022, I was invited to join the board of TEDxSavannah. My current role is Speaker Coordinator and Speaker Coach.

Playing piano.