Public Speaking is an art. It is a display of both confidence and rhetorical style (conveyed through the words of the speaker), but for some people, this idea of displaying "confidence" is harder to comprehend and present more than writing the content of the speech. As a shy introvert, I hate the idea of public speaking in general. Just talking to a large group of people (peers/classmates) will give me butterflies and this feeling will overpower me so much that in turn I will start forgetting the words to my speech, no matter how many times I practice. I will feel like I just ran across the Sahara and preparing myself to run across the world next. The struggle is real. I will also become very exhausted from thinking about giving the speech, and sadly, it is hard for me to sleep well the night before. From the day before up to the presentation, I will count the minutes. When the time of the speech delivery starts getting closer, I will always count the seconds. The pressure that is put on you and the judgment of others is what scares me the most. I can talk to my friends easily. I can even talk to all of them in a very big group, but if I have to present a planned speech in front of them, I will die on the inside.
These are just some of the symptoms of nervousness, but trust me; there are a lot more embarrassing ones. The good news is that we aren't the only ones who suffer this plight. Famous people such as Barbara Streisand and Adele have suffered from stage fright as a result of their shy personalities, but because they are rich individuals, they can get their condition treated in rehab or a therapy of some sort. So how do we shy introverts conquer this fear of shyness (by the way just to be clear, not all introverts are shy and mot all shy people are introverts)? Well to tell you the truth, we never can completely conquer it. We might be able to give speeches on a normal basis, but we will get the jitterbugs. The fact is that we can't show it. For the 4-6 minutes we are up there presenting, we have to deal with it. It is something we can't avoid (unless you truly try). Having a fear makes me uncomfortable, but knowing that the fear is there, just makes me feel like something is holding me back. I can never 100% conquer public speaking but what I can do is plan what comes after the speech. After the speech I will go out and eat whatever I feel like and care less about how people view me. I will plan to go out the weekend and party it up to forget about my horrendous failure. Just remember, there is always for improvement and there are almost always great resources out there to help you. So the next time you feel like this, just remember that you are not alone.
I teach public speaking, and I still feel nervous when giving some presentations. You're correct to note that this fear is natural and normal! We'll talk more during this semester about how to ACT confidently even if we don't FEEL confident. (In other words, fake it until you make it!) As painful as it can be, part of the growth comes from repeated exposure. You'll get there, Maisha!
ReplyDeletePublic speaking is difficult and I think most people feel nervous before they speak, even if it's something that they do on a regular basis. Mindset and attitude play a huge role in how you can feel better before speaking. One technique that a teacher in high school told me that some people use is to stand in front of a mirror and keep repeating, "I can do this". It may seem dumb, but if you say it enough, you may start to actually believe it.
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