Public speaking has never been my strong suit but with some training I managed to improve tremendously. When we first started this class, I dreaded doing speeches – they were a real challenge for me. I used to get a sick feeling when it was my turn to present. After the class, however, I became more confident in my communication, and I relaxed. Even though my nervousness is not even close to being gone, I feel like it has subsided. I attribute my new mindset as to why I improved. My teacher told me to have a discussion with the audience rather than to blurt out information. I took this to heart, and it has been much easier for me to present with that in mind. Now, I see presenting as more of a conversation with an audience – a comfortable setting for me. With my initial fears out of the way, I was able to improve in many other areas – body language, use of the voice, clarity of thought, and approach to professional communication. …show more content…
It was not the main thing I needed to work on, but I feel more comfortable with it now going forward. My posture, breath, eye contact, and hand movements benefited. The exercise where each person had to stand in front of the class and look into everyone 's eyes helped me stand up straighter, and it corrected my posture. I never realized how much I was slouching, especially in my neck area. By being aware of how to stand properly early on, I was able to carry out what I had learned throughout the semester. I saw the importance of being grounded and allowing myself to be seen. My breathing did not improve much. I did not fully understand how to breath with my stomach from the exercises due to lack of time. I acknowledged how it can help with speech, resonation, and endurance from the article that we read; however, I did not manage to apply it to myself
One of my greatest strengths pertaining to education is my ability to complete my work in a timely matter. I only turned in late work at least two times in my high school career. Another strength I possess is being a respectful, erudite student. I can understand the lessons quickly and listen to my teacher in a considerate manner. Although one can discuss their strengths indefinitely, weaknesses must be told to understand a person. One of my main shortcomings is public speaking. I find it hard to present myself in front of a large group of people. Once I begin to know my peers, it is easier for me to speak in front of them during
During my demonstration speech, I was affected by my speech anxiety. Some of the viewable symptoms were the shaking of my hands and also the stuttering of speech. I was able to control myself and relax after I started getting into my information. I did use some of the suggested relaxation techniques to relieve my anxiety. Before I got up to speak I thought confident of myself to help give me courage and confidence.
Public speaking is a topic that most people dread. The anxious feeling of getting in front of people and presenting is avoided by many people at all costs. Although public speaking has a bad reputation, when done right, it can be a very valuable skill to have. Recently, I attended a presentation that was given by Ann Walker, a member of the National Alliance for Mental Health (NAMI). This presentation was focused on making more people aware about mental illnesses and the effects of them, which was using the method of an Informative Speech. As said in it’s name, the purpose of this kind of presentation is to “Increase your audience’s knowledge of a particular topic or teach them something new” (Hosek & Crawford, 2016, p. 74), which is stated in our student guidebook. It was held in a very casual setting, consisting of a college classroom holding about 50 seats. Before Walker started presenting her speech, she asked the audience what most of us were majoring in.
In life, we rarely have the chance for a do-over, but I feel like returning to college is mine. Throughout high school, my grades were never above average and until about a couple of years ago I considered myself to be unintelligent. What I failed to see was my level of commitment. Once I began applying myself, the grades earned reflected that. This concept coincides to my public speaking ability. Many students, including myself, walk into a speech class thinking that it will be the Easy A of the semester and quite frankly I devoted a good amount of time and hard work to earn my A’s and B’s for this course. Overall, my public speaking growth in terms of listenability were influenced by the following: the strategy keys in correctly engaging the audience; the structure keys appropriate for a speech versus a paper; the support keys by continually engaging the audience; and finally the style keys by practicing the use of body language and reducing the verbal junk.
I believe that, if I feel nervous in the future, I will not be afraid of this emotion like what I did before. This course provided me knowledge on how to make me relax. Little by little, I have gained the confidence of combating the fear of public speaking in this course. All these precious experience will continue benefiting me in the future. Thus, I am proud to say that I have fullfilled the course objectives and enhanced my public speaking
Lucas devotes a section of chapter one to talking about the history of public speaking stating that every culture has some word equivalent of the word speaker. Lucas then goes on to tell the similarities and differences between public speaking and conversation. Stephan Lucas then goes on to explains in this chapter that nervousness and stage fright are among the leading causes for the fear of public speaking. But he then assures us that nervousness is normal, and a welcomed part of speech giving. Lucas proves his point by saying, “If you feel nervous about giving a speech, you are in very good company. Some of the greatest public speakers in history have suffered from stage fright, including Abraham Lincoln, Margaret Sanger, and Winston Churchill” (Lucas, 2012 pg. 9). Lucas says that you should not run from your nervousness, but instead try to turn it into a positive nervousness. Lucas then goes on to give six ways to turn the negative nervousness into positive nervousness. They are acquiring speaking experience, preparation, positive thinking, visualization, realizing you’re nervousness isn’t visible and not expecting perfection. Now that Lucas has touched on the history, fears, and possible rewards of public
Some strengths that I use while giving a speech are the use of different pitches, the use of different volumes, the use of different facial expressions, and good posture. Some weaknesses that I have while giving a speech are the use of vocal fillers, the too fast of a rate at which I speak, the lack of eye contact, and the nervous movement from my body. I know that I have a lot to improve on when it comes time to get up and speak in front of others. However, I do feel that only after three speeches in my public speaking class, I have grown and become a better public speaker. Each speech that I have done, have gradually gotten better, but I do believe my dramatic reading speech was my
Making a successful public presentation or speech to an audience was a very big task for me before I joined the public speaking class. I was always frightened and very nervous. Since then I now understand the process of making a speech or a presentation including coming up with a topic and from this topic develop the main points of the speech, research, organize my points, revise them, edit and make a magnificent presentation to any audience. People in the audience might sometimes agree or disagree with my opinion or points, it was therefore necessary to communicate my information clearly to the audience without making any judgments since every person was entitled to a different opinion and views about things.
...e to speak in front of people. I might still get a case of nerves every now and then, but that’s expected. As long as I can keep those nerves in check and under control, I don’t think I will have a problem with public speaking any longer.
In order to successfully deliver an oral presentation such as a speech, the speaker must follow certain procedures to ensure his message can be conveyed clearly. Vast amounts of research are essential in order to acquire the knowledge necessary to be able to speak about a topic comfortably and answer any questions the audience might have during the course of the presentation. After acquiring such knowledge about the topic of the presentation the speaker will feel more confident, confidence is key in delivering speeches and other oral presentations because it makes the speaker look more credible and trustworthy. Lastly, the speaker must be fluid and eloquent with his words, the speaker must be able to sound clear and crisp while delivering their
I did have great communication skills but whenever I had to communicate in front of a group of people for some reasons I fail miserably. My public speaking fears had become worst when I got to college. I was required to take a public speaking class which I couldn’t escape in since it was one of the required courses for my degree. My first day on that class is so far the most terrible day of my life. I was asked to introduce myself to the class using only one word to describe me, the moment that my name was called it felt like I was walking into an unfamiliar galaxy. I am standing in front of a classroom full of strangers doing nothing but looking around and
Throughout the semester I became a more confident public speaker. The first assignment that we had to do for our education class was to introduce our self. I practiced what I was going to say and how I was going to say it that weekend. However, when I got up to present my mind went completely blank. Throughout the course of the semester I learned what I need to have up with me when I present do that I do not blank on what I wanted to say. In the beginning when I got up to present my heart was racing and my hands were shaking. Now I make sure I breathe and tell myself that I know what I am going to talk about. So I still don’t talking in public but I feel more comfortable doing it. I need to work on being more confident when I have to present a topic. Talking to Mrs. Nealy after my mini lesson I have more confidence when I am talking about a math concept than any other topic. Throughout the semester my writing skills have greatly improved. The thing I need to work on is managing my time better so that I have more time to edit my papers.
...e, also moving arms and gestures are important, but not too much to distract the audience.
Some people express themselves through beautiful art; others are masters of the page and speak silently through writing. I, on the other hand, express myself with the greatest instrument I have, my voice.
Learning how to overcome fear through building self esteem and confidence will always have the most important impact to me as a communicator. Public speaking anxiety results into boring and poor speech which is made in hurry. Through my communication lessons I have known how to prepare and practice, get organized, know the details of my topic and learn how to visualize on my success as a communicator in order to beat the fear of public speaking. This in no doubt will have a great impact to me as a motivational