Like every Penn State student, Minerva Matos had to take Speech Communications 100.

However, Matos (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies) wasn't worried about public speaking.

But being involved with student organizations like the Latino Caucus and the Student Minority Advisory and Recruitment Team, and hoping for a career in international business, Matos wanted to improve her public speaking within these organizations.

She decided to look into Speech Communications 100D, otherwise known as the Reticent Program.

Gerald Phillips, professor of speech communication, created the Reticent Program 25 years ago to help shy students improve their public speaking and communications skills.

Phillips said he was approached by a Penn State faculty member and asked to do something about the fact that some students were dropping out of school because they could not fulfill the speech requirement.

Students who take 100D are motivated to improve communications skills they feel deficient in, she added.

The program is directed at students who may have difficulty asking questions in class, shy away from speaking to professors, are uneasy about committee work, apprehensive about employment interviews, have trouble meeting strangers or feel uneasy when they have to speak in public situations.

"Thirty-nine percent of people fear public speaking, ahead of dying," said Cynthia Begnal, instructor of speech communication and supervising professor of the Reticent Program. "Shyness is a problem because it prevents people from living the life they want to live."

Phillips said, "You could embarrass yourself and sensitive people realize how much they have to lose in front of their peers should they fail."

Everyone is shy or exhibits reticent behavior at times, Begnal said.

Begnal defined reticence as "when a person feels they stand to lose more than they would gain by speaking."

She added that it's not that the people can't speak, but that they avoid such situations.

Although scholars debate over whether shyness is a psychological or genetic problem, Phillips says the answer is symptomatic and can be treated.

He said preparation, planning and practice are the keys to overcoming shyness.

The program teaches methods of goal setting to promote better communication in areas of public speaking, interviewing, interpersonal skills, class participation and small group communication/discussion, Begnal said.

The students are told to set small goals, like ask one question in a class, and then told to plan what will be said and done in order to accomplish that goal, she said. The student then analyzes the situation in terms of success, but not in terms of feelings, she added.

Phillips said the only concern of the program is with perfomance. Good speakers find ways to interst others or motivate them, he said.

"Three-quarters of the people in the universe are lousy speakers," he said. "Most of the people you speak to are really boring people. They don't have anything to say and they don't say it well."

Begnal and Phillips said they have never had a student not improve by the time the class is over.