Public Speaking

[Iseesky]

I'm an absolutely terrible public speaker! I hate it! It's my top fear. I feel like I've had so much experience doing presenations and speeches and readings in front of the class, but it seems like each time I do it, it gets harder. Not sure how that works...


Anyway, I'm wondering about taking a public speaking class. A friend of a friend said they had taken such a class and from then on had no problem with public speaking. But, they might not have had such a big problem with it to begin with.

Have any of you guys taken a public speaking class? Or know someone who has? Did it make your anxiety worse? Did it improve? What types of things did you do in the class?

 

[shy17]

Whenever someone ask me to do such a thing, i refuse. I am not able to do a public speaking. I would be dieing out there, i couldn't breathe, my hands would be shaking, my voice would be very funny, and i would be blushing.

 

[mrb]

Breathing Exercises read that it might help in situations like that lol

 

[Wtfawk]

Yeah I learned alot about this after doing some reading. I had to speak for an english course and for some reason the teacher always made the tables in a circle which had all eyes on me. I actually freaked out and started shaking a bit when it was my turn...really sucked. Not to scare you lol

The one for english had me down for a while (and I'm usually a pretty happy guy) so I started to read up on it.

I started reading about it and learned a few tricks. The most important was breathing very deep breaths seems like what everyone would always say. But if your problem is similar to mine you actually begin to breath very short breaths and don't notice which creates the fast heartbeat and all the shaking.

I think it was 4 second inhale threw nose and 6 second exhale through mouth. Very slowly.

I later had to speak for another class and this time the entire time I was doing the breathing. During my presentation I may have stuttered a bit but it was very little and I it was a bit easier.

The main issue with speaking and freaking out is because we think we know what the other people are thinking and have negative thoughts in our heads. (Both I have)

So if you try the breathing and keep your head positive you'll have less of a problem as the negative thoughts go away you'll be a natural. (If your case is the same anyway)

So having a public speaking class is the best way to get your practice in.

/end massive rant. o-o

 

[Iseesky]

Whenever someone ask me to do such a thing, i refuse. I am not able to do a public speaking. I would be dieing out there, i couldn't breathe, my hands would be shaking, my voice would be very funny, and i would be blushing.

The same things happen to me (minus not being able to breathe), but I still do them! There was only one time when I avoided a presentation (in front of the class). It was in high school and I was partners with one of my best friends. I told her that I wanted to get the presentation over with and she let me do it during lunch when only she was there. That was the only time she let that happen though. And the only teacher that let me do it! Sucks that it's manditory!

 

[TheWall]

Public speaking is a real bitch. I don't think taking speech made my anxiety any worse or any better. My professor showed us some relaxation techniques, but by the time I would get up to present all of that was out of the window and I was a bumbling, shaking, nervous wreck.

 

[megalon]

In my senior year of high school, the english teacher devoted a quarter of the year to public speaking. Needless to say, every day going into that class was hell and I got extremely poor grades. The worst part about it was before I did my first speech, he said something like "Usually when people who don't say much start talking, they say things worth listening to." I know he was trying to calm my nerves, but it had the opposite affect. Now I had expectations to live up to. crash and burn

 

[nopark]

Ha, I was just talking about this with someone the other day.

Public speaking is my all-time major fear. "Fear" cannot even correctly express the emotion because it's so beyond that. I can't begin to explain how I would literally rather die than do any public speaking. (Hardly an exaggeration).

I never did any sort of public speaking in highschool. I'd simply not do the assignments. I would've failed, too, if not for some parental intervention.

This fear is actually one of the reasons I haven't pursued college yet. There are other important reasons that have nothing to do with SA, but glossophobia has as high precedence as any other.

 

[nopark]

nopark, you'd be surprised how accommodating most colleges are. I know a few people who talked to a school counselor and was able to do written reports instead of presentations. So thats at least one less reason for you to worry about.

Yeah, DanFC told me that yesterday when we were talking -- it was something I never considered. I'm definitely going to look into it.

 

[Kat]

nopark, you'd be surprised how accommodating most colleges are. I know a few people who talked to a school counselor and was able to do written reports instead of presentations. So thats at least one less reason for you to worry about.

Drivemycar, I think you should ask to do^ that instead! Unless you're planning on doing a career that involves public speaking. It shouldn't matter, the main thing is you can research and relay the information but it's excellent that you keep trying.


That's what I hate about jobs they require you to socialize anyway even if it's not necessary to do so. I think it shouldn't matter as long as the job gets done.

 

[DebbieDowner]

Ugh...I can't count the number of presentations I had to do in college - definitely one of my worst fears, I hate having everyone staring at me. Because i went to art school, every week I had to present and speak about my work to my peers, and it really helped me to feel comfortable speaking in front of small to medium sized groups...however, I skipped out on my final thesis presentation (in front of about 500 people) and i'm lucky they graduated me. As hard as i tried to convince myself i could do it and as much experience as i had with smaller groups, I could NOT do it.

I think if you take a public speaking class it will help because it will just become a normal, routine thing and you will definitely get used to speaking in front of those people over time. Also, you have to remember, a lot of the people you're speaking in front of are so nervous about their own speech that they don't even hear what you're saying! lol It's a very brave thing to do, good luck!

 

[DownInAHole]

I'm actually a pretty good public speaker, but I am not a fan of presentations at all. In high school when I had a presentation I would feel my face get flushed, and get self conscious.

In college I would take a small dose beta blocker to control the flushing, and actually did good on all my presentations. Although they do not take away all the nervousness, which is normal for public speaking though.

 

[Qbmaster]

My technique to handle public speaking is the following: Practice the speech until you know it more or less perfectly by heart, but make sure to pick one part (for me usually the beginning or the end) that you do not even prepare! Then prepare it in your head on the same day that you have presentation. This will put all your mental focus and worries on one very small part of the speech and may even completely remove all your worries about the rest of the speech. (WARNING! Do not use this technique if you aren't completely sure it will work for you. It is not safe!)
But of course, it will always be scary.

 

[ffeev223234]

I am not a good public speaker. In high school, I always failed at these particular assignments. I could do other tasks but, presentations were the reasons my grades fell in each class I took except math. Not even techniques can advance my performance as a speaker.

 

[Iseesky]

I love all of your stories/suggestions!
I'm definitely gonna look into the written assignments instead of presenations if I have to do a big presentation.

The things that I always get stuck doing though, are the 'teach the class' presentations. You know the ones where they have a list of topics and assign a different topic to each student and that student has to research and teach the class about it? There's basically no getting out of those ones!

 

[SpLynx]

I totally refuse to speak again in public. University was such a hell to me as presentations were obligatory after every assignment... I dont want to study anything anymore!!! My voice is trembling, my lips are shaking, it is a real torture.

 

[dead24]

even when the semester doesn't start yet i already dread these presentations.
feels like an impending doom. cannot wait for college to end. 2 more f*****g years

 

[Iseesky]

I'm gonna resurrect this thread again.
I'm going to have to do my first 'major' college presentation in front of the class in a few weeks and I'm already having anxiety symptoms. My understanding of the presentation was that 3 or 4 people presented on one day to just each other. However, the first group of 3 went today and presented in front of the entire class. Just watching them present my heart rate increased, I got shaky and nervous and I started to sweat. The more I do these presentations the more anxious I get. Ugh. Anyone have any success with presentations/public speaking lately?