According to a 2001 Gallup poll, “more than 40% of Americans fear public speaking than death”, I was shocked to learn this statistics that I was not the only one. As I was pondering about what to write on my essay for my favorite school, I thought about my own childhood experience. Growing up, I was known as an outgoing kid. However, in fifth grade I learned that I had glossophobia or speech anxiety. This anxiety occurred when I was in front of the classroom or large group of people. I had no idea why, but the thought of speaking out loud would give me sweaty palms, a rapid heartbeat, and nausea. I have tried to avoid making eye contacts with my teacher in hoping that she would never call on me. However, one day, Mrs. Nealy, my favorite teacher, asked me to present my family tree project to the classroom. I was very hesitant …show more content…
as I started walking slowly toward the front of the classroom. Once I began opening my mouth, my voices immediately starting to crack and I would stutter. As soon as my speech would be over, I wouldn’t remember actually saying any words and kids started making fun of me and I felt so horrible and helpless. Mrs.
Nealy and my parents helped me tremendously over the years to overcome my fear. I stayed after school to practice in front of Mrs. Nealy and a small group of my closest friends. My parents recorded my speeches so that I could watch my body language and practice over and over again. My sister, although 3 years younger than I was, provided me with many funny but ingenious comments that help me to learn. I practiced in the shower, in front of the mirror, and everywhere else I could before each presentations. It wasn’t easy; however, as the years went by, I felt more confident and comfortable speaking in front of groups. I have learned the valuable techniques from Maya Angelou that said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. With each of my speeches over the years, I have tried to incorporate some funny or heart warming stories to keep my audience engaging and always remembered Mrs. Nealy’s advice that I didn’t need to memorize every word from my speech, but just to prepare an outline, be interesting, and try to have
fun. As I grew into a more confident speaker, I was able to take on more leadership and mentorship roles at school and in my community. During my sophomore year at Briar Woods High School, I founded the Multi Media Club. As the President, I often meet with my club members to discuss new cool technologies, but I’ve also spent time discussing public speaking skills and anxieties that many of us are facing every day and I try to come up with ways that I could help my team to overcome their own fears of public speaking. This past summer, I was extremely excited to work as the volunteer for National Air and Space Museum and was one of the few High School students to be selected as the lead guide tour for the National Air and Space Museum Visitor Services. In addition, I was one of the youngest associates selected to work at the customer services counter at Walmart. I am actively engaged in many activities to promote public speaking initiatives through many local libraries to read books to children in the Reading Buddies and Summer Reading Programs.
Ever since I was in middle school, people always told me that I’m quiet and shy. Having said that, I never felt comfortable communicating with people I didn't know that well. That also includes speaking or presenting in front of a class. According to my family and friends, I’m the complete opposite, because they claim that I’m talkative. Being shy and nervous did affect my schoolwork. I wouldn’t raise my hand in class that often, because I didn’t feel comfortable enough. When I was in 6th grade, my teacher would always call up students to share something they liked about a story they read. When the teacher called out my name, my heart started pounding, my hands were shaking and my mind went completely blank. I was so nervous to the point where I felt like I was going to pass out any moment. That’s when I asked the teacher if I could excuse myself to go to the bathroom. She didn’t mind that request so I tried to calm myself down by washing my face and breathing. After class, my teacher and I discussed my inability to present in front of a class. She was obliging, because she agreed to help me overcome being shy and to help boost my self-confidence. Shyness and nervousness also stopped me from participating in activities and obtaining opportunities. In 10th grade, my Chemistry teacher suggested a film festival, because she was aware that I loved filmmaking. At first, I considered the idea, because I’ve never done anything like it before. Having thought about it, I then realized that I was going to have my movie up on a full screen where
Q: Discuss a public speaking experience you remember. Was it good or bad? What did you learn from this experience?
The very idea of spending time with people outside of school is exhausting and my heart begins to pound as I raise my hand to speak during class. Speaking in public, even if it’s just to answer a question in class, or carrying out tasks like ordering Chinese food can lead to tears or a sudden lack of ability to breathe. If I think I say something in a weird way or join a conversation I feel I should not have joined, I will remember the terror (because it is pure terror) that I felt in that moment basically
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.
Childhood studies is a disciplinary that looks at childhood from birth to 18 years as this is the age range that the United Nations Convention has placed on childhood. Although there are many sub-categories within childhood studies such as early years, middle years and youth, the lines between when one stops and the next one starts are vague, it depends on a number of different things such as area for the end of early years, places vary for instance, early years in Sweden is 7 and in Wales is 8 according to Montgomery (Farrington-Flint and Hammersley, 2016) and puberty, which ends the middle years but this depends on the child’s age that they reach puberty, as all children develop differently. Childhood studies is interdisciplinary, which means that they take several perspectives and look back on work from other academic sources such as; psychology, anthropology, education, health and social
How has public speaking become so feared? “In a study [of 9,000 people] that concentrated on fears in a social situation, their top ranking fears were public speaking, speaking up in class, meeting new people, talking to people of authority, important exams or interviews, going to parties and talking to strangers”(Lucas, 2012, pg. 9). This question has always perplexed me, because I too suffer from a fear of speaking in public. But after reading chapter one of The Art of Public Speaking, I understand now that it is a blend of different subjects that make public speaking seem so unappealing. Stephen Lucas opens this chapter on the power of public speaking, by saying “Throughout history people have used public speaking as a vital means of
As I said before, I was never an outgoing child. This class helped me, through experience, develop into a person that can confidently deliver a speech. After I was able to get over my extreme fear of public speaking, I was able to focus on my verbal and nonverbal skills. For my verbal skills my volume has always been a problem. Since I am a quiet person, I am constantly challenged to talk louder so everyone will hear and I can convey my thoughts with confidence. In my first couple speeches I received plenty of feedback that said to talk louder. When I felt more comfortable about my speech deliveries, I was able to focus on projecting my voice. For my nonverbal skills it was very difficult for me to have a good posture and keep eye contact. I got a lot of feedback saying that I should straighten up my posture and not sway as much. I forgot about this many times but for my final speech I actually wrote on my outline to not sway. This helped me remember to stand straight in order to present a more formal speech delivery. Finding the balance between memorizing my whole speech and only the main points was difficult for me. In my first couple speeches I wasn’t comfortable enough in my speech to be able to make frequent eye contact and not read off of my outline but in my final speech I wrote only the main points down and tried to deliver it as extemporaneously as possible. This is important because
For the aforementioned reasons, there is no doubt that fears and shy had been controlled myself throughout the years. According to The People’s Almanac presents The Book of Lists by David Wallechinsky, Irving and Amy Wallace, one of the topic was titled “The 14 Worst Human Fears”, and the fear of speaking in public is the first fear of all fears (Richard I. Garber, 2009). This make me realized that it is perfectly normal to feel anxiety and fears to speak. Everyone, even an experienced speakers has some anxiety when speaking in front of a group of people. As for my experience and situation, I should have just fight the fears in me to throw my voice out asking questions in class otherwise I would might left behind a bit and need to struggle up for the subjects more than everyone does. Asking questions does not make you any stupid, it’s the source of
My public speaking class has already enhanced my knowledge and my ability to give speeches greatly. I know that with time and experience in public speaking, I will become a more skilled and professional public speaker. I will be sharing my first thoughts about my public speaking class, my strengths and weaknesses as a speaker, the speech I am most proud of so far, the speech that was the most difficult so far, and areas I know I need to improve on in order to be a skilled public speaker. Although I have had previous engagements with public speaking in high and middle school, none can be compared to the nervousness I felt about speaking in college level classes.
One of the biggest fears I have had to overcome in high school is my fear of public speaking. I was always comfortable in the classroom; I loved discussing current events and explaining different biology and history to my friends, but I could not stand in front of them to give a presentation. Whenever I stood in front of my classmate speak, I would begin to shake so much that I could not read any notes I may have brought up with me. I was an absolute wreck and I hated that I could not overcome my phobia; however, my fear of public speaking is incredibly ironic because my sister teaches public speaking on a collegiate level. When I told my sister that I was horrified of standing up and speaking in front of my classmates, she was surprised. My sister told me that I could not let my fear stop me from speaking because I would likely never get over it. In addition, she
Out of the many people who teach me in life, my dad has influenced me the most. He has taught me much, has helped me when I have had trouble, and is always there for me. One of the areas in which my dad helps me is in difficult subjects such as math. The different types of equations and formulas in math sometimes confuse me. When my dad notices my confusion, he and I come up with a plan to resolve the problem before the next assessment. When I perform well on the next assessment, I realize that he has not just helped me to do well but has made me appreciate what I have learned. It is neither enjoyable nor easy, and I do not do this simply to please him. I do this because I value my education and my own success. My dad teaches me to push through my problems and resolve them -- and not just in school. He has helped me in all different kinds of problems. From making sure I have good, kind friends, to comforting me when I am upset or anxious, he takes a big role in my life. By always being there for me, he teaches me to do the same for others. And above all, my dad has influenced me to comfort those and make others happy. My dad is someone I know who has influenced me through his many daily actions.
Ni, Preston C. "5 Tips to Reduce the Fear of Public Speaking." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. .
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
I do not think that everyone fits in one hundred percent of the time. I think there are times that we all feel out of the loop, and there are times when we feel like we do not belong. Whether we like it or not, those moments can change us and shape us. I have had times like this in my life too. One of these instances that is still affecting me to this very day has become even more prevalent in the past few months. This experience I am having has changed the way I think, act, and feel about the world surrounding me.
Childhood is the most unforgettable period of my life. Everyone has childhood memories. My childhood memories took place in Eritrea. These memories that are happiest and saddest memories are still in my mind. Sometimes I remember things that have happened in my childhood period and they just make me laugh. Childhood memories can be bad or good, but we can’t forget them. For these reasons, childhood memories are the most important parts of my life. Specifically, also I have some good memories of childhood.