The Fears of Public Speaking: "The Lights, Their Eyes, and My Voice"

714 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Public speaking anxiety

Like many, I can remember the time I stood in front of my classmates and recited a fourteen verse, Shakespeare poem. It was just hard to get over those uncontrollable pushes and pulls of nervousness when all eyes were on me. I could hear my shaky voice, the loud, off rhythm of my heartbeats, and the awkward silence. My eyes wandered around for some face to stare at before they found their comfortable position looking down at the floor. My hands squeezed one another tighter each time I paused to take a breath. That front stage experience wasn’t petrifying. It was just obvious that I was afraid of public speaking, and, unfortunately, I still am today. Speaking publically makes me feel uncomfortable, requires the delivery of personal opinion with the risk of harsh criticism, and is just one of those things I don’t like making a mistake in.
It’s important to make eye contact and to have the right facial expressions in the art of public speaking, but, for me, it is discomforting and can cause me to stutter a little and even make a contorted face. For example, last Thursday here in Speech class, I had to find a partner and stare into their eyes for thirty seconds. It wasn’t easy because I kept laughing, tapping my foot, and looking away. I tried to keep a smile, but slowly the muscles in my face tensed themselves out into an awkward frown. I was afraid of what the girl who was staring back into my eyes could see or what she found out about me at that moment. I almost wanted to tell her how my day was really going, but I couldn’t help but not show it. She was also probably wondering what her eyes might have been telling me. Well, that thirty-second stare was not only a good ice breaker for a public speaking class, but it also showed me...

... middle of paper ...

...dom staring contests while waiting for class. Well, maybe. To deal with the fear of judgment and mistreatment due to letting others know what I think on certain issues, I’ll just have to learn to accept and expect some to completely disagree, even if what I may say is true. Also, in order not to mess up, I’ll have to begin with being willing to make mistakes so I can improve and be better the next time. By having the opportunity to speak publicly, I’ll finally learn how to not only stand confidently in the front of a large audience, but I’ll also be able to engage the audience more effectively. With that being said, I’ll then know how to take control of and deal with “the lights” being those things that expose my mistakes, “their eyes” being those things that make me feel criticized, and “my voice” being one of the things that’s discomforting for me to really use.

Show More
Related

  • College Essay About Being Shy

    440 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Emma Goldmans Speech

    1587 Words  | 4 Pages

    Few people are fearless speakers. As students, we generally feel the rumble of butterflies in our stomachs, but the most we have to lose is a good grade.

    Read More

  • Early College Benefits

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Fine Arts Programs Should Be Kept in Schools

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    Performing or public speaking of any kind is difficult, but that difficulty can help to build confidence. Fine arts gives students the ability to perform and build confidence with their own support team of people who do and love the same thing. Not having to perform alone and knowing that everything possible has been done to ensure a good performance helps performers be confident in themselves and in their abilities. “Puneet Jacob, former choristers and current assistant conductor, says kids are often afraid to perform because of fear of failure.” (Lefebvre) The more a person faces their fear, especially when they do well and the fear is disproved, the less afraid he or she will become. When students work on music or a play for months on end, they become much more confident in themselves and what they can do than they were when they first began.

    Read More

  • Essay On Atrophy Social Life

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: Speech Self Critique

    355 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: Miss Metter High School Pageant

    319 Words  | 1 Pages

    As I walked onto the stage, the bright light blinded me for nearly a full twenty seconds, but I continued to walk towards what I thought was the podium. I noticed the sea of people in the audience as my eyes finally focus. The taut dress was suffocating me, I had to pee, and the blazing lights were making me sweat. I am very clumsy- just a side note- and I was wearing heels. With all that being said, I’ve done this a million times before. FBLA events, other pageants, and school activities constantly have me on a stage. Getting in front of a crowd has never hindered my ability to talk, however this time was completely and utterly different. It was the Miss Metter High School Pageant and I made the top five contestants as a junior, which is not

    Read More

  • Final Reflection In Communication

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the recent four months in Communication 1402 class, I have addressed three formal speechs and completed a number of chapters in the corresponding textbook “Communication Works”. This course of Communication aims to provide general information what public speaking is and how to address a public speaking. Recalling back the experience during the processes of completing the Speech to Imform, Speech to Persuade, and Group Presentation, I will draw a conclusion about this course and these three presentations in five aspects, comprising my previous perception of public speaking before this course; learning from the Speech to Inform; the goal and evaluation of Speech to Persuade; learning from the Group Presentation; the most important thing learned from this course.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Informative Briefing

    479 Words  | 1 Pages

    My eye contact was good overall. I occasionally glanced at my notes, but maintained eye contact and looked around the room throughout the speech.

    Read More

  • Reflective Essay On Communication Skills

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Eye contact

    1489 Words  | 3 Pages

    A common phrase used about the eyes is that, “the eyes are the window to the soul.” This phrase is not necessarily true; however, it gives a good perspective on how people use eyes to judge a person’s character. First of all, eye contact is a great communication tool and can be used effectively in social situation. Second, a teacher can use eye contact to help their interaction with students. Third, employers want a future employee to have good eye contact to know that the employee is listening and will understand the job they are asked to perform. Eye contact is important and can determine a person’s true thoughts and opinions. The use of eye contact in socializing is important.

    Read More

  • What I Learned In Public Speaking

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Speech Reflection Essay

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    I feel like I made really good eye contact in most of my speeches because I was always taught to look someone in the eye when I spoke to them. I also have really good memory so I could easily remember things about a topic or about a memory to share with the class and be able to tell the story or information correctly. My eye contact was a really big strength for me and I think it helped me in a lot of the speeches I did. The speech I think I made the most eye contact and was able to keep my thoughts together, was my impromptu speech when I talked about me and Arley’s relationship. I was able to give so much eye contact because I was not nervous and was able to speak about something I knew a lot about and the topic fit me fairly well. My other strength was memorization and that came in handy during my informative speech. I felt like my informative speech was one of the best speeches I gave due to the knowledge I had of the topic. I was able to remember important information and that made me more calm knowing I would be able to sail through the speech without going

    Read More

  • Social Skills Deficit Research Paper

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Reflection Paper On Public Speaking

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    In public speaking I learned many types of concepts, theories and terms of communication. In concepts of publicly speaking there’s, relaxation, practice, credibility, attention getters, attire, organization, volume, emotion, audience relation, and movement. In my first speech, “The any old bag speech” I quickly learned the do’s, don’ts and concepts of my speech performance.

    Read More

More about The Fears of Public Speaking: "The Lights, Their Eyes, and My Voice"

Open Document