On my first day of college I looked at my roster of classes to
choose from and I saw "public speaking". Those words alone were
terrifying enough. As anxiety began to boil within my stomach I tried to
ignore that I had even seen those words. No matter how excited I got
over all the other classes, I just couldn't get public speaking out of
my mind. So, to prevent myself from an entire semester of impending
torment I choose Public Speaking as one of my first classes. I just
could not handle knowing that this terror was to be at some point in my
future.
On the first day of class I got into a class of kids who
all appeared sane and public speaking anxiety free. I wished I had their
confidence. As my luck would have it I was summoned to the front of the
class to introduce myself to the class. I took a deep breath of
confidence and went to the front of the class. Standing at the front of
the class I felt fairly normal, but as soon as I opened my mouth that
breath of confidence slipped right out.
I had to speak for at
least sixty seconds, but every second felt like a minute. Time seemed to
slow down as my normally sexy voice came out in a quivering squeak! I
searched my audience faces for any evidence that would indicate what
they were thinking about me. How could I, great conqueror of all, be
reduced to a pipsqueak in a mere moment?!
Definition of pip·squeak - A person considered to be insignificant.
Luckily
enough the basic facts that were required for this mini introduction
speech was ingrown knowledge. Just when I thought it was all over the
teacher asked me to tell the class something interesting about myself.
All of a sudden with cheeks quivering, butt shaking, and eyes widened by
fear I became the most boring person in the class. I just could not
remember anything!
As I headed back to my seat I dared not look at any faces. I kept my eyes on my seat of solace as if it were an endearing lover.
Because of reports from my friends I know for a fact that I'm one of the most retarded Public Speaking Anxiety Sufferers.
And it had been a long time since I had been in a public speaking situation it was the most uncomfortable moment I had experienced in a long while.
And it had been a long time since I had been in a public speaking situation it was the most uncomfortable moment I had experienced in a long while.
As if the anxiety itself weren't bad enough, after an
embarrassing moment like that I would then suffer though the emotional
pain afterward. To present myself like that to an audience completely
misrepresented my identity: That wasn't me up there!
As I sat in
my seat of solace I considered what would be the lifelong impact of
inflicting these emotional wounds on my psyche for the rest of the
semester. This was the moment that changed everything.
At that
moment I felt the determination swelling up in my chest. This was going
to be a semester of terror and I just couldn't allow myself to live
through that. At that moment I vowed I would cure my Public Speaking
anxiety before my next speech. I did not know how I was going to make it
happen, but I knew I had no other choice.
I remember being in a
marketing class where a guy dropped out of school because he had to do a
presentation. If you are failing in a class or denying a promotion at
work because you suffer public speaking nervousness, then contact me. My
determination to find a solution to my public speaking anxiety was
rewarded that same weekend I made my vow. By the following weekend I had
cured my public speaking anxiety completely. Yes, 100%.
Despite
the terror you experience in front of an audience you can become a
confident public speaker. You can experience the same freedom and
normalcy that you feel when talking to your friends in front of an
audience. So please, my friend, do not miss out of life or suffer a life
of ruin because of fear of public speaking. There is no joy there.
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