Sharon Sinnott on the Importance of Speech Skills, and the Joy of Scaring People
Public speaking can be a frightening experience. But, as the director of Babson’s Speech Center, Sharon Sinnott knows how to dispel students’ fears in front of an audience. She saves her frights for Halloween.
Now in her 41st year at Babson, Sinnott has scared up a lengthy career as an entrepreneur, administrator, speech consultant, and teacher. For 25 years, she ran Sinnott School, a nonprofit that provided free education for professionals and others in need, as well as serving as a private-school principal.
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Now, in addition to directing the Speech Center, she is teaching Business Presentations and Babson’s signature course, Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship. She also has received several recent recognitions at Babson. She earned her second Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award last fall and the Joseph R. Weintraub Alumni Award for Distinguished Faculty/Administrator Service this fall. And, in September, a chair in Winn Auditorium—last row on the end, where she sits for events such as the B.E.T.A. Challenge—was dedicated to her by the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship.
Also, for the past 36 years, she has hosted Sinnott Hauntings at her home on Halloween night. Last year, more than 700 people visited her haunted trail, where she has 15 to 25 scare actors.
The Q&A
What does the Speech Center do?
“The Speech Center serves undergraduates, graduates, faculty, staff, and alumni. There are nine of us, and we help with anything and everything to do with communication, participating in the class, behavioral interviews, research presentations with the faculty, and everything to do with Rocket Pitch, B.E.T.A. Challenge, everything that the Blank Center owns. Babson students have a lot of natural talent, but we take them from wherever they’re at—no matter how good they are or how shy they are—to another level. And that’s what companies say when they have Babson students come in. It’s all transformative. I’m very spoiled, because I get that 17- or 18-year-old coming in not knowing anything, and I get to see them progress. I get to see them after they graduate, and I get to work with them 10 years later. So, I get to see such a unique perspective of the Babson experience. How lucky can I be?”
Why is emphasizing speech and communication so important?
“It’s a life skill, and we’re so appreciative that Babson recognizes that. They invest in that. Very few colleges have a Speech Center, first off. I’ve yet to find another one that’s staffed by communication professors, not students. The Speech Center team is phenomenal. We probably have collectively over 100 years of experience in communication working together. So you’re getting real professionals with real-world experience with real care teaching. We’re in there teaching not telling people what to do, but asking questions. We so value Babson’s commitment to the Speech Center, and it does come out as one of their top skills.”
Why is teaching FME important to you?
“FME is a transformational class, and it’s just a springboard for what I feel is a Babson brand that I do take personally. Teaching FME, they’re just starting, so it’s always that vision that they’re going to transform, and you know where they’re going to end up, but they don’t know it yet. So, it’s helping people realize their potential and put it to use no matter what the obstacle. That’s what I love about FME.”
You’re now in your 41st year at Babson. What has kept you here?
“One, I’ve been at Babson so long because I learn something brand new every day—from the students or from my peers or from an experience. You wake up every day, you know you can learn something new. The other thing is, I tell students, I love teaching. I might be the interruption to their day, but they’re the reason for my day. Babson students, have they changed over the years? Yes, but the constant is how curious they are, how intelligent they are, how resilient they are. Who can’t be inspired by that?”
What is Sinnott Hauntings?
“Sinnott Hauntings is a free event in Hyde Park for the community to come through and have a few scares and a few laughs. I laugh the whole time. From the top of the 10-foot-wall opening, it looks like a carnival with all the flashing lights and tents. It’s a trail walk. When approaching the entrance, each group stops, and my husband will tell scary stories about walking through the trail. Upon entering, you walk down the driveway and down a path I’ve created through different tents with themes. The ending is a tent of clowns. It’s horrifying. There’s absolutely no blood or gore in this. We have ghouls, clowns, but no blood. I don’t like to be scared, but I like to scare people.”
“There’s absolutely no blood or gore in this. We have ghouls, clowns, but no blood. I don’t like to be scared, but I like to scare people.”
Sharon Sinnott, director of Babson’s Speech Center who has hosted a haunted trail at her home for 36 years
What started your passion for Halloween?
“I’ve always liked Halloween, but Sinnott Hauntings started when my husband, Bill, and I moved to Hyde Park. During the first year at our new home, with our first baby daughter, no one came for trick-or-treating. It’s that old adage: If you build it, they will come. So, each year, I added something like a scarecrow just sitting there in a costume, and then when they came to the stairs, we’d go, ‘Boo,’ and they’d yell and I’d laugh. And the next year, we would just build a little more, and then I started buying costumes and adding scare actors. Our whole garage now is Halloween. I’ll never forget one dad sitting by a tree with his child. I broke character, which is not allowed, and I said, ‘Are you OK? Do you want a candy bar? Do you want to go through?’ And I’ll just never forget him saying, ‘Nope, we’re just sitting here creating this memory that we will always remember the haunted house sitting by the tree.’ So, I can’t not do it.”
What’s the future of Sinnott Hauntings?
“I’ll do this as long as I can. My husband, daughters, and friends all help with the setup and the actual scaring. Hopefully, in the future, my family will just take everything and do whatever they want with it. But I do have a business plan if I wanted to do something as a nonprofit for the community. I can get a community grant from the city, or I could ask local businesses to sponsor and then donate proceeds to Hyde Park. I would never charge anybody coming, but while I can, while I’m working, I don’t want anybody to pay. I want this for the community. I want kids to be kids. I want people to still have fun. This is pure joy.”
Two More for Sharon
What does Babson mean to you?
“To me, Babson means the future. Colleagues and students are always learning how to make valuable contributions in local communities and to countries around the world. It is exciting to be a part of this.”
Right now, what are you …
- Reading? Back Bay by William Martin
- Watching? “Loved ‘Blue Bloods,’ looking forward to watching ‘Boston Blue.’ ”
- Doing in your free time? “When my husband and I are not babysitting our seven grandchildren, you can find me at the barn with my two horses.”
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