Do you speak up in class?

[wherecaringhappens]

I was just wondering whether anybody else who has or is going to school or college speaks up in class and stuff.
I know SA has something to do with it, but still for some reason I can't raise my hand or say anything in class. And times when I am forced to talk I just end up saying something stupid or stating the obvious.
Either it is because I don't have anything productive to say or I fear that everyone is gonna look at me and be like, "I thought this was the quiet kid, he's not supposed to talk". I just made that impression that I am the quiet kid and once that happens it just is really difficult to change that.
It just pisses me off so much that everyone else can do it so easily but I'm struggling

There's a difference between shy and my situation, because I see shy kids in my class and they don't talk often but at least they do talk sometimes and when they do they seem very comfortable doing so.

To make matters worse, I got a presentation to do in a week and I am damn nervous!!
(Thank god its a group presentation and I only have to speak 90 seconds)

I was wondering if any of you have the same/or similar problem I have and if you have gotten over it what did you do?
And if any of you have some experiences similar to this you can share that too.

 

[elProscrito]

when i was in primary school i always spoke up in class. i was a very ambitious child, but toward the end of the primary school i became very silent, because i realized many children didn't like the fact i always knew the right answer and i would never miss the opportunity to share it with the class. :?
what i didn't realize back then is that it wasn't the sole fact of me speakig up in class, but it was this annoying know-it-all style i was doing it in.
so now i don't speak in class at all, unless the teacher asks me. i know i must break this mental barrier, but i don't seem to be able to.
though i must add that i just love to do presentations. a couple of years ago i was just terrified to do them, but now i do the best presentations. i learned how to control my voice my posture, tonality and stuff.
but i just can't participate in discussions. i must do something about it.

 

[NormanBates]

Just signed up for classes, with "fundamentals of public speaking" as one of them. Exposure therapy, here I come

 

[Elad]

I hardly ever did and when I did, I regretted and analyzed it after.

 

[Akira2O]

Everybody thinks I'm a retard or an idiot. The teachers pick the students and I'm a stuttering nervous wreck. Fuck, I even type how I talk.

 

[nataliyaib]

i don't raise my hand, i'm even afraid to ask the teacher a simple question.

 

[crome]

Honestly it's weird for me. Public speaking can be really really easy for me... I mean I've had occasions where I'm less nervous talking to a room full of people than one-on-one convo. Then again, there are times when I have that evil trembling voice come out.

 

[chris11]

I hate doing it, but, yes I do. I do so because it'll help me out with the desensitization process.

 

[littl3misstrange]

i never do unless i'm forced to. when i speak in front of a class, even if it's just a simple "yes or "no" answer, i turn bright red & start sweating all over.

 

[marciaX3]

when i was in school, i NEVER participated. i mostly got away with not doing daily participation but i couldn't get out of the oral presentations... grr. thinking back on it, i'm amazed i got through these presentations, especially the group project ones!! those were the worst pressure and for obvious reasons to everyone here i'm sure.

as for college, it was part of your grade to participate daily unfortunately. some teachers just didn't care and would just mark me down for not participating, but other teachers wanted me to participate cuz they knew i had decent thoughts and ideas from reading my papers and all, so they made me participate whether i wanted to or not. every time the teacher called on me, ALL eyes were on me, the room was silent so they could hear me, and everyone hung on my every word. it was weird cuz it was giving me the impression that people actually liked hearing what i had to say since i spoke so rarely. and of course that just made me more anxious cuz i had all this extra pressure on me. oy. all this is just another reason why i refuse to ever go back to school for any reason!! i do not want to go thru that hell ever again!

 

[SpartanEL]

I've always had trouble with presentations and speaking up in class, however, this semester, I have been much more vocal in class. I also even did a presentation where I absolutely rocked it. This leads me to believe that exposure therapy, or becoming desensitized to social situations does indeed work. It's as if your body/brain just gets used to the situations and you no longer have that intense fear/anxiety. I still get a little anxious at times, but not to the extreme degree as before.

GL on your presentation.

 

[PhantomPod]

I speak up in class very little. And it takes me a while to work up the courage to actually speak up. Like, even at the thought I've talking in front of everyone, I will feel my heart start to race and my arms and legs start to get all shaky, because I will get so nervous.

 

[jayBDee]

I wouldn't speak except for the required presentations/speeches. I took speech as my last class. I hate giving speeches. It helped a little to have visual aids. I felt like this would help to divert the attention off of me.

I don't know if anyone else had this but I would always get nausea and the "runs" before a speech/presentation. There were times when I had to give my speech last because I had to run to the bathroom during the class.

 

[NormanBates]

I wouldn't speak except for the required presentations/speeches. I took speech as my last class. I hate giving speeches. It helped a little to have visual aids. I felt like this would help to divert the attention off of me.

I don't know if anyone else had this but I would always get nausea and the "runs" before a speech/presentation. There were times when I had to give my speech last because I had to run to the bathroom during the class.

For some reason, I always used to get the runs if I went into a library or a computer lab.

 

[Richey]

I'll speak up in class only if i'm very confident with the subect matter, because then it doesnt feel daunting being there trying to absorb all the information and juggling that with everyone joking around in the class ...

one of the most challenging things is to openly talk and say as you feel while 20+ people are sitting next to you

 

[Nack]

OPS! I accidently pressed "Frequently".

But, really im the same as you guys, I try to stay out of social situations at all possibilities...

 

[AvrX]

Only if I feel comfortable in my environment, It's not so bad if you know what your talking about.

 

[coriander1992]

I try to answer atleast one question per lesson. Gives me something to aim for. If I don't the teachers directly ask me questions anyway, so there's no escape! :lol:

Maybe you could try and set a similiar goal, answer one question a day at first maybe? Then two a day, then one a lesson and so on...


Good luck

 

[kathyprice19]

i only answer questions if i know the answer for sure. but then there are times when the teacher has asked me on my opinion and i just say whatever comes to mind, which often sounds really stupid.
the worst thing is when a teacher or prof tells you that you arent trying hard enough. i hate that. especially because i really do try hard in class, i mean in my mind, im courageous enough to wake up each morning and go to class. but clearly ppl dont realize that.
but yeah, i probably sound like an idiot when i answer questions, and i hate it when ppl mention how red i get when i answer the simplest questions.