About Me
- Brendan
- I am a professional educator by trade, but by my definition, I am much more than that. I wear many hats; including, but not limited to, Father, Husband, Son, Step-Father, Ex-Husband, Entrepreneur, Public Speaker, Super Geek (love technology), Trainer, Coach, Student, Writer, Dreamer, and Leader. For fun I am an avid golfer and consider myself a blessed individual because I have the greatest wife in the world that loves to golf with me.
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Thursday, August 4, 2011
Lesson 3 How to Overcome Speech Anxiety and Those Dreaded Armpit Tacos
Everyone gets nervous their first time in front of a big audience, and many get nervous after their hundredth time in front of an audience.
The fact is, we all experience the emotion of anxiety, and we all experience it differently (like getting sweating armpits that soak through your shirt (aka Armpit Tacos).
The purpose of this lesson is to help you understand public speaking anxiety and what you can do to lessen those "jitters."
PSA (public speaking anxiety)
Yes that is a real term (at least in textbooks). By definition it is "fear or anxiety associated with either actual or anticipated communication to and audience as a speaker."
Experts have identified some potential causes of PSA. They are:
No experience in public speaking.
Having had a negative experience when giving a speech.
The feeling of being different from the audience.
Being the "center of attention."
Solutions to your anxiety
Everyone experiences anxiety differently and at different times throughout the speechmaking process. As you become more comfortable and advanced in your public speaking abilities, your anxiety(s) will also change.
Number one solution to control your anxiety in public speaking is…to always be prepared. Of course that is a good rule for anything you are doing in life-BE PREPARED.
How to BE PREPARED
Fake it Until You Make It. This saying has stuck with me since I was a young buck in college. I was stressed out that I wasn't going retain everything from all of my studies. One of my professors told me that sometimes in life I will need to fake it til' I make it, in other words, be confident and act like I knew what I was doing until I did know what I was doing. Hey, it worked, and it still works to this day.
**This is not good advice for doctors and those who are in the profession of saving lives.**
Be Positive. Having good "positive" thoughts about speaking will relieve your stress. Have you ever heard the saying "Attitude is Everything!"? Well it's another one of those cliches that are true.
Create a Checklist. Some people feel better when they have a checklist to check off, such as
Relaxation Breathing. Inhale slowly through your nose and let your abdomen fill up (your belly not your chest). Hold it in for five seconds and imagine little oxygen cells cleaning out your body. Exhale slowly while imagining all that anxiety leaving your body in a black cloud. Feel yourself being cleansed from the inside out.
Move Around. You can control anxiety by moving around when you talk. Make sure these are natural and "non-distracting" movements. You might just want to video yourself speaking to see what your body movements are.
You Get to Speak. Choosing to, or getting to speak is much more relaxing than having to speak. Enjoy the opportunity that you "get to" speak.
Dress for Success. It is a fact that your dress changes how you act. Dress nice, comb your hair (get a haircut), ladies get your hair and nails done (yep, I just gave you an excuse) and there is a good chance you will feel better. Oh yeah, wear clothing that will not show perspiration (Armpit Tacos).
Drink Water. It is acceptable to have bottled water when you speak (it will help with dry mouth). It is looked down upon to have anything else to drink. Your 64 oz Big Chill mug is not "cool" (actually, it's never cool looking in any setting). Your Starbucks Grande Machachino Whatever is also not considered professional. Coffee is casual not professional.
Finally, evaluate yourself appropriately. Don't be hard on yourself. List all the positives that you did during your speech and then list all the areas you "get to" improve on. It is "highly recommended" to always list more things you did well than those things you want to improve on. I recommend a 2:1 ratio- two positives for every one area of improvement.
Questions
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| Armpit Taco |
The purpose of this lesson is to help you understand public speaking anxiety and what you can do to lessen those "jitters."
PSA (public speaking anxiety)
Yes that is a real term (at least in textbooks). By definition it is "fear or anxiety associated with either actual or anticipated communication to and audience as a speaker."
Experts have identified some potential causes of PSA. They are:
No experience in public speaking.
Having had a negative experience when giving a speech.
The feeling of being different from the audience.
Being the "center of attention."
Solutions to your anxiety
Everyone experiences anxiety differently and at different times throughout the speechmaking process. As you become more comfortable and advanced in your public speaking abilities, your anxiety(s) will also change.
Number one solution to control your anxiety in public speaking is…to always be prepared. Of course that is a good rule for anything you are doing in life-BE PREPARED.
How to BE PREPARED
- Research. Know your topic, your audience, the environment you will be presenting in, etc. (See Lesson 2)
- Practice. Repetition is the mother of skill and the more you practice giving your speech (in front of a mirror, in front of family/friends, in an empty classroom) the better you will be.
- Expect Anxiety. Yes, you need to expect that you will have some butterflies. It's better to expect this feeling than try to deny it. Some feel anxiety before the speech (during preparation), some feel anxiety during the speech, and some will feel anxiety before and during. It's okay, it's expected.
- Visualize. Yes this actually works and can help you while you are practicing. Close your eyes while you are practicing your speech. I have used this technique with numerous students and many have commented that it helped considerably.
Fake it Until You Make It. This saying has stuck with me since I was a young buck in college. I was stressed out that I wasn't going retain everything from all of my studies. One of my professors told me that sometimes in life I will need to fake it til' I make it, in other words, be confident and act like I knew what I was doing until I did know what I was doing. Hey, it worked, and it still works to this day.
**This is not good advice for doctors and those who are in the profession of saving lives.**
Be Positive. Having good "positive" thoughts about speaking will relieve your stress. Have you ever heard the saying "Attitude is Everything!"? Well it's another one of those cliches that are true.
Create a Checklist. Some people feel better when they have a checklist to check off, such as
- Appropriate topic selected.
- Researched information for topic.
- Audience researched.
- Outline completed.
- Practiced in front of mirror.
- Visualized the speech.
- Timed my speech (Time was_______).
- Checked out all audio/visual equipment.
Relaxation Breathing. Inhale slowly through your nose and let your abdomen fill up (your belly not your chest). Hold it in for five seconds and imagine little oxygen cells cleaning out your body. Exhale slowly while imagining all that anxiety leaving your body in a black cloud. Feel yourself being cleansed from the inside out.
Move Around. You can control anxiety by moving around when you talk. Make sure these are natural and "non-distracting" movements. You might just want to video yourself speaking to see what your body movements are.
You Get to Speak. Choosing to, or getting to speak is much more relaxing than having to speak. Enjoy the opportunity that you "get to" speak.
Dress for Success. It is a fact that your dress changes how you act. Dress nice, comb your hair (get a haircut), ladies get your hair and nails done (yep, I just gave you an excuse) and there is a good chance you will feel better. Oh yeah, wear clothing that will not show perspiration (Armpit Tacos).
Drink Water. It is acceptable to have bottled water when you speak (it will help with dry mouth). It is looked down upon to have anything else to drink. Your 64 oz Big Chill mug is not "cool" (actually, it's never cool looking in any setting). Your Starbucks Grande Machachino Whatever is also not considered professional. Coffee is casual not professional.
Finally, evaluate yourself appropriately. Don't be hard on yourself. List all the positives that you did during your speech and then list all the areas you "get to" improve on. It is "highly recommended" to always list more things you did well than those things you want to improve on. I recommend a 2:1 ratio- two positives for every one area of improvement.
Questions
- What are some other techniques that you use to help with anxiety?
- Describe a time that you felt confident in an activity you were doing. How did you feel, what did you do to prepare, and how can you recreate that feeling when you are going to give a speech?
- What is your biggest fear in public speaking and how can you overcome it?
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Question 2
Growing up I playeed numerous sports. Of course like everyone else I didnt fully excell at every sport but I was naturally better at some than others. One way I made myself feel more comfortable was practice. Gorwing up Irarely missed practice. A lot of this resides with my parents, they always wanted me to know that showing up on time and always working hard was very important and I thank them dearly for this attitude and habit they have installed within me. Another way was to imagine, I played QB my whole life in football and specifically my senior year our high school went 13-1 all the way to the state game. One of the best factors was to be prepared physically, perfecting the little things at practice. The mentally qith watching film and etc. Then the night before we would have team dinner and I would go through a whole game in my head series after series and look at the game plan and imagine my receivers and who would be open against what defense. This fully prepared me and I always felt like I was ready.
There was this one time when I had to perform my solo in front of a ton of people and I was competing against my best friend. She always beat me but I was determined to beat her. I worked my butt off and practice until I had blisters all of my feet. When I got on that stage I was the most confident I have ever been in my life. I felt so powerful and that I could achieve anything at this point. I was still of course a little nervous with those butterflies all over my stomach but was more relaxed then all the other times I have ever preformed. The reason I felt so confident is because I practiced until I new that dance backwards, frontwards, from the middle and so on. I could actually focus on selling the dance in meaning giving it more attitudes and really being in character. To recreate this feeling in a speech is repeating it over and over again and going to different people with my speech. If I know that speech to a dime then I can actually relax up there and really be myself and make it that much better for me and for the audience.
I have a few techniques that I use to help me get rid of anxiety. I always get extremely nervous before I do anything in front of a crowd, no matter how prepared I am. But once I have completed my speech or presentation, I always feel awesome. I have come to expect my anxiety that I feel beforehand, but I just tell myself that it will be over soon, and then I will be proud of my work. As long as I really am prepared, then I just tell myself that I am ready, and whatever will happen, will happen. I try not to over-prepare. Once I am an hour away form doing my speech, I simply relax. If I keep dwelling on changes to make or what could go wrong, then I will probably mess myself up more than if I just accept it as it is. As the post mentioned, deep breathing helps me to relax when I am feeling anxious. I don’t know why this works, but my mom once told me to curl my tongue back and touch the roof of my mouth as far back as possible as I breathe. For some reason, it releases tension, and almost gives me a natural high.
I am naturally an anxious person. Which is probably not the best thing for public speaking. I took a yoga class last semester, and this taught me so many relaxing techniques. She taught us multiple ways to breath to help us stay calm. My favorite is called the breath of fire. You can only breath through your nose. The breaths that are in and out have to be equal. You do this as fast as you can for about three minutes. This is something you surely don’t want to do around people. It is loud and snot can go flying out of your nose, and that’s not attractive! But before test ill do it either at home or in the bathroom. I’m telling you it’s the best thing ever! It instantly calms me and focuses me on the task at hand. So try it out sometime!
My biggest fear in public speaking is sounding like a complete and total idiot. I hate when someone is talking about a subject and they have absolutely no solid material or have no relevant details; I refuse to be one of these people. Public speaking is a course where I would love to widen my verities in delivering a message instead of a cliché one way outlook. I love when someone creates an image with a colorful and strong message, even if it’s just about a simple story. To caption someone in the first sentence and to create that feel of interest is definitely the most important part of the speech. I hope that within this course I overcome this fear and be able to communicate a direct and formative message, without rambling and dragging on and on. To do so take’s practice and talent which I hope to learn.
A few years back, I was involved in a pop a capella group at my school. I was talked in to being the vocal percussionist, which I have never felt confident about doing seriously. It was a struggle at first, but by the final performance I felt comfortable and confident beat boxing on that stage. I had practice every day to get down the perfect sounds. Also, at rehearsal every day, I memorized the beats for each different song, and had to also practice those at home, so that I could feel more confident with each song. I remember going home and watching videos online to make sure I sounded legit, and then I would listen to myself, fix those things I felt needed to be fixed, have my family and friends listen, ask for advice, and then finally as it came closer to our performance, I watched myself in the mirror to make sure my appearance was good, too. I would picture myself on stage performing, so that when it was the real thing, I felt prepared and ready to do my best. I also would try not to think too much about it 30 minutes before I went on stage, so that I could relax and breathe. When I give a speech, I can feel this same calm, relaxing feeling by being prepared. I can prepare myself by researching my topic thoroughly, writing an outline, and practicing while picturing myself in front of everyone.
What are some other techniques that you use to help with anxiety?
One of the biggest things that has helped me is to take a step back and think logically. First, I remind myself that stressing out won't do anything to help me. So I do my best to stay calm. Especially right before I stand up to speak, I remind myself that I have prepared the best that I can. What's done is done, so now all I can do is make the best of it! It also helps to remember that everyone else is nervous as well. We worry too much about what others think. :)
2. Describe a time that you felt confident in an activity you were doing. How did you feel, what did you do to prepare, and how can you recreate that feeling when you are going to give a speech?
Everybody should feel confident in their talents. One of my specific talents is playing the flute. I started at a young age and it came very easily to me! After i realized how natural it was for me i got into private lessons, upper-level bands and started trying out for solo parts and higher positions. Lots of practice was involved with private lessons twice a week, band class every day and three hour practices twice a week after school. My confidence grew and grew as i climbed the levels in my books and starting performing small group and solo performances. I soon loved to be the center of attention and tried out for every solo i could. I would practice until they were perfect and i actually became excited to to be on the stage by myself or singled out on the field with the microphone. It's scary knowing an entire stadium could hear if i messed up and the whole bands score could be deducted, but the more i did it, the more i loved! Over all I've learned to love being the center of attention and talking in front of people comes easily to me as well. By being singled out and put in front of many people I learned to be more outgoing and to not be afraid of what other people think.
There isn't just one time, but multiple times I felt absolutely confident when singing. I love to sing and I love singing to others. Of course my first few times singing in front of a crowd or even just a few friends was terrifying to me and I hardly performed to the best of my ability. Yet as my love and desire for singing grew, I just kept practicing and learning new techniques and slowly I became more comfortable. This is the part where I am so strange though because I can sing in front of a group by myself just fine but if I were to give a speech to that same group of people I wouldn't want to! I would just feel nervous and incapable. I really think the difference is attitude and desire. If I were to have the same excitement and willingness and confidence to give a speech as I do in singing a song, I bet I would have significantly less anxiety and I would perform much better!
Question 2
In high school I was really into my broadcast class where I had the opportunity to be one of the news anchors for my school and even compete in that area at a state and national competition. The first time I ever broadcasted to my school was actually my tryout for that position. I was extremely nervous beforehand, stressing that my speech wouldn't run on time with the teleprompter, that my mind would go blank, or say something that I didn't mean to say and make a fool of myself. As I watched the other kids try out I noticed that they all had the same problem, nerves. I thought to myself that if I could sit at the desk in front of the camera and pretend that I had be doing that for years, then I would for sure have it. 'Fake it till you make it' is exactly what I did. And I sat down and did and felt like a rockstar. When I finished my teacher said that I had a potential in that field and that he wanted me to compete with a team that winter. Wow! I was very flattered and even though I was nervous out of my mind, I faked the confidence that I needed and it all worked out!
I have a couple of fears in public speaking that make me nervous before presenting in front of an audience. One, I’m very afraid of having a black out and forgetting everything that I practice. I don’t want to be in the position where I find myself scrabbling to think of words to say then saying something that makes zero sense. By preventing this from happening studying my material and researching more information about my topic gives me the flexibility to talk endlessly. Two, my appearance is what I’m also concerned about; I want to feel comfortable so I can give a good presentation. But discovering food in my teeth and taco pits after specking in front of people would really shoot down all the confidence I have. That’s why doing a quick self check before going up helps. Lastly, my biggest fear is putting people to sleep. Considering I don’t find it very interesting listening to a monotone voice, I fear that I might sound like a robot and start to boor everyone. To work on this problem will take practice (just like ever other fear), so for now practicing in the mirror and in front of family will be a good start.
What are some other techniques that you use to help with anxiety?
Techniques that help me with anxiety is to keep moving. i feel that if im just standing still i feel like more people will notice how nervous i am. i try to breath and just take my time. i tell myself they asked me to talk for a reason i know my stuff so i just pretend im talking to a family memember or a close friend. Another thing that helps me with anxiety is just the willingness to except that I am nervous. If i tell myself im not nervous and just hope that the feeling goes away....well it doesnt! I let myself be nervous at first because it shows that I am human. What you do with that nervous feeling is what counts. I can either let that feeling control me, or I can make myself control the feeling. After a few seconds I find it becoming easier and easier to talk in public and the feeling eventually will go away.
\One time that I felt very confident was towards the end of my missionary service in South Korea. When I first arrived there I could not speak the language, and I couldn't handle any of the food. I felt nervous about everything and wondered how I would make it through the next two years. I decided to set goals to help me learn the language and adjust to the food. Over time I became more comfortable with the language, and the food became more bearable. By the end of my time in Korea, my practice and goal setting had helped me develop confidence and the ability to do whatever I wanted using the Korean language, I even started to enjoy the food. I plan on applying this same method to my life now I’m in college. Through setting goals for improvement and practicing and applying principles I can grow into the man I hope to become.
What is your biggest fear in public speaking and how can you overcome it? My biggest fear is that I will just forget what to say and stutter. I think the best way to overcome it, or things that seem to work is to know the information. It is so important to know because then you can at least still talk about the right subject even if it’s not the exact words you had in mind. Also not having everything wrote down word for word. Having note cards with key points is also very helpful =) Practicing beforehand is a way to know the information too. Repeating things over and over put it in your head better than anything else. Breathing slowly and calmly keeps you from stuttering or forgetting things too. But out of all the ways to keep yourself from stuttering or forgetting is to know the information!!! If you study it and learn it well the problem with forgetting disappears a lot faster!
Like nick, I am really into sports, and played many different sports growing up. I would get more nervous for the sports i felt less confident in, more then the ones I felt better in. I was always told to visualize achieving success on the field, either making a tackle in football or fielding a ball in baseball. It sounds weird but that truly helped. I haven't given many speeches in my life, and have never used that strategy before, but i think i will when i give our first speeches tomorrow.
when making a speach I have to do three things to get over the fear. One i have to look at the back wall in the same place. I do not like looking in to someones eyes unless I am talking directly to them. I find it unsetteling when people giving speaches look at me so I refuse to do it. Second I always wear a collar. Not a collared shirt but a cat or dog collar. It keeps me grounded no matter what speach I am giving and reminds me to stay in limits and not go off the handle. Lastly I must keep a beat. Be it a song or tapping my fingers I need the beat to keep from going to fast or too slow in my speaking and studdering.
Jenny campbell
In highschool I was in student council and every couple months we would have an assembly where I and the other officers would have to speak at in front of the entire student body. I always felt pretty confident knowing that these were kids just like myself and if someeone made fun of me I'd love to see them do better. I always prpared by tinking of all the bad things that could go wrong. Instead of trying to pevent them from happening I prepared myself for them, so if they did occure I'd be able to take them head on. Nothing in life is gaurentied to go smoothly, and sometimes I think people forget that. I always prepared myself by going through the most obsered senerios so if anyhing was to happen I'm sure it wouldn't be any where as bad as I planned so hopefully I will be more calm when it does, cause I can remind myself it could be much worse.
Question 2:
I started dancing when I was three years old and have not stopped since. I love dancing and I really feel comfortable doing it. Everytime I perform I may feel a little nervous ahead of time but once I get on the floor all nerves turn into positive energy and I forget all about being nervous. To prepare for dancing, it is very important to practice practice practice. Without practicing, I would definitely stay nervous while performing. After practicing for many hours I feel confident with my routines. Public speaking is opposite for me. It seems like no matter how much I practice I still get nervous when I get up in front of a group of people. I get butterflies, I jumble my words, I fidget. The only thing that really helps calm me down is when I try to talk myself out of being nervous. If I can convince myself that I'm not nervous at all and that everything is going to work smoothly I seem to be less nervous. At least right up until I have to actually start talking.
When I used to act, I found the best way for me to feel comfortable about what I was doing was displace myself from the real environment and basically became my character. This is called method acting. Technically method acting came from putting your own feelings and thoughts into the character, but it's been revolutionized into becoming the character. Whenever I acted, this is what I did. I became my character and acted as though I was that character even when I wasn't in costume, on stage or even rehearsing. I found that this set me at ease and by the time I was up on stage, I was already in the mindset, I was in that scene and not on a stage.
How I think this would apply to public speaking? It's basically knowing what you're speaking about. Make what you're speaking about a part of you, just like riding a bike or brushing your teeth. If you know everything that you're speaking about without having to refer to note cards or necessarily the powerpoint you might be using, you're going to feel a whole lot more comfortable. Speech is closely related to the dramatics, that is why they are taught together in school – speech and drama. The techniques you learn and use in one can and should be used when applied to the other.
There is only one time i'd say really that i felt confident while doing an activity and that is whenever i play basketball. I wasn't nervous because basketball is second nature to me. I practice every single day. I even try to put my self in pressured moments mentally so when they happen while actually playing I've already visualized what it would be like and how i would react making the situation much more comfortable. I'm assuming it's safe to say that if i do the same thing with public speaking, i will get the same results. If i practice everyday and put myself mentally in difficult speaking situations then it will all start to become more natural. If you put yourself in the hardest situation everything else after that becomes easy. You know that it won't be any harder than what you've already done so it gives you confidence. Prepare for the worst, expect the best.
Any time I feel anxious or stressed I hit the streets. Not to go break dance or fight an opposing gang, but to run. I don’t think there is a better way, for me, to relieve stress. It gives me a chance to put everything in perspective. Any time I start to feel stressed it affects my body before it goes to my head. I think that is part of the reason running is so affective for me. After a good run I feel refreshed and ready to get started on the tasks ahead. One other thing that will help me feel less anxious is being well prepared. If I am about to perform something that I have made second nature to me I get excited to share my skill. When I have a speech that I have memorized well enough to say in my sleep I feel really comfortable giving it. I’ve noticed that giving the presentation in the mirror has helped the most with memorization and confidence. It is always really awkward staring at my face but when I love knowing what my face is doing when I give a speech. I can adjust facial expressions it help add emphasis to a point. I will give a talk 6-12 times in the mirror in preparation. It’s great.
Describe a time that you felt confident in an activity you were doing. How did you feel, what did you do to prepare, and how can you recreate that feeling when you are going to give a speech?
Last summer I took a course called “Public Health 1” and we were assigned a group project on the “Oral Rehydration Salts in Gambia”. Our group put in quite some time to get this project ready for presentation; we met up after class a couple times and had an easy time contacting one another via e-mail and facebook. I noticed that the more information I knew, the more confidence I gained, even if it was a topic assigned to one of my partners. Knowing the whole presentation rather than a part of it helped tremendously. I also made note cards with basic points on each slide that I was presenting. The day of the presentation I felt confident: I was well dressed, had my note cards in my hand, got along with my partners, and spent the whole last night and early morning rehearsing. This confidence can definitely be recreated whenever a speech is given; the key is practice and by having faith in yourself, will you gain the confidence to do well.
I would like to respond to question #3. My biggest fear in public speaking has been that I'm not prepared enough and that my speech will either be too short or not enough thought put into what I am trying to say. I think the reason I get nervious about this is when I was younger I really struggled to put myself out there and talk to people or a group because I was afraid that people might think I was not as smart as them or as cool or whatever. For me the biggest way to overcome this fear of people looking down on me was just the practice or repitition of public speaking. I still get nervious when I first start a speach, but over time I think I've learned to handle those nerves and do fairly well at public speaking.
Be it a god given gift or genitics, I have really never had a problem with speaking in public. from a young age I have always had the ablity to speak to perfect strangers be it in a group setting or one on one. I think the only time I that I have ever been nervous while speaking was the first time I spoke into a microphone, even though I could not see the people I was speaking too, It was very unnerving. I think because I could not see them I let my imagination run away with the thoughts of how people where reciving what I was saying. Not knowing how you are affecting the people your speaking too is a big factor. Based on that moment I have always treid to put myself in my listener's shoes.
My biggest fear about public speaking is getting up there and totally going blank on my subject. I always feel bad for people that do this and I feel so embarrassed for them. I know that if I am better prepared and know what I am talking about this will not happen. I also have a problem with my voice. When I get up to give a speech it gets all high pitched and sounds like I am about to cry. It’s so embarrassing. But I think one thing that will help me with this is practicing in front of a mirror. It may feel silly but I think in the long run it will really help me in giving these speeches. Also, I think that the breathing technique would definitely benefit me on keeping calm and keeping my voice in a normal range. Taking this class is going to really help me learn how to gather my thoughts, that way I will make more sense and be more confident.
In the athletic world, anxiety is always present, whether in a regular game, or a Championship game. There are a couple of strategies that I have developed over the course of my career playing baseball at the high school level and the collegiate level. One of the most important factors in being prepared and having the confidence to perform to the best of your ability all starts with your head; in other words, being mentally prepared. As I prepared my self to play for the region championship at the college level, it required me to apply everything I knew about baseball. The attitude of a successful baseball player is walking on the field with a bit of arrogance and believing that you are going to accomplished what you are supposed to do(defeating the opponent). Another part of that attitude is giving it your best no matter what. There is no better feeling than walking off that field knowing that you gave it your best, whether you win or lose. Being a pitcher, its comforting to know that I gave my team every opportunity to win. Now how am I going to apply this to my public speaking skills? All it really is, is my attitude, how well prepared I am, and am I going to give it my best when I’m at the pulpit or stand.
So my worst fear is, when I get embarrassed or nervous my face goes red! Like bright red! So everybody knows when I get embarrassed or when I am nervous. It is really so embarrassing, I can tell when I get that way and when my face changes cause it really is just my face that goes warm, then everyone tells me my face is red. I think that something that would help me out would be this class, haha for real. I think having speeches for homework and I have to do them to pass this class is gonna really get me a lot more comfortable with speaking in front of people. Another thing that freaks me out about speaking in public is forgetting what I really want to say, or I get so nervous that I don't get my point around and I don't say everything I want to. So with this class I will be able to speak about different subjects that I won't really know about, so I will have to research them and really put some hard work into them. Then I will (hopefully) become a lot better at speaking in public.
My fear of public speaking is while giving my speech I will completely freeze and not remember what I was saying. I don't like being the center of attention and when I see people staring at me my mind draws blanks. I'm afraid of stuttering in front of people or saying something and having people laugh at me because sometimes I say stuff without thinking and it does not make sense. I don't like when the audience knows I am nervous. I can overcome my fears as a speaker by researching my topic so I understand it very well so if I do forget I can ramble about something else that relates to the topic. Also I need to be very prepared. Practice makes perfect and if I feel comfortable with what I'm talking about. I think confidence is key. I need to have confidence in myself and bebconfient in what I'm talking about.
While growing up I have competed in various different athletic events like gymnastics, soccer, basketball, swimming, and student government presentations that all gave me anxiety. For sporting events, especially soccer and gymnastics I would get super nervous and get all tense and think about my routine or what I can do to help my team be more aggressive and dominate the game. With those two, soccer and gymnastics, I would just take deep breaths and go over my routine in my head right before and just take nice even deep breaths. That would help calm my nerves and avoid me over thinking things too much. For student government I would go over my part various times to make sure that I remembered my part and make sure I didn’t add filler words or leave out key parts. So basically, as talked about in this lesson, the breathing/ meditating method really works for me.
When I was a theater major, I was given the opportunity to prepare a monologue. It was a very intense and emotionally charged scene, which brought me and the audience to tears. I felt so confident delivering that monologue because I was prepared. But I think it was even more than that. It was because I was so emotionally invested and passionate about it. The words weren't my own, but I believed in them. I, as a performer, felt the playwrights motivation to write them and the characters motivation to express them. I performed that monologue every chance I got because I knew I could evoke the emotions that all three of us, the playwright, the character, and I wanted. To prepare, I started with the basics ,or the skeleton, of the speech. I read it over and over memorized it. Then, I started diagramming it. Where did I want to pause? Where should I speed up and slow down? Am I enunciating? And then finally, I added the “meat” to the speech, which I believe is the emotion. After that, it was practice and the confidence that was acquired because of practice that really made my performance great.
Growing up I played a lot of golf. The older I got the more I leaned toward playing competitive golf. During the peaks of my time playing junior golf I would get very nervous because I was concerned with the outcome of the tournament. Now that I have become more experienced with handling stress on the golf course I will touch on the two things that I focus on when I get nervous on the course. First and foremost, nerves are a good sign. Feeling nervous means that you are entering uncharted territory or about to make a personal breakthrough in leaving your comfort zone. In this way, being nervous is a great way to grow and develop. The second thing I focus on is my routine. If I can simply go through my routine and trust that it will produce the desired result my performance will stay at a high level. In applying this to public speaking, you need to have gone over your speech enough that you can give it routinely. Focus on one aspect of your speech at a time and you will be surprised how quickly it will be over. These two things have helped me in golf and should be sound advice for public speaking as well.
My biggest fear about public speaking is not delivering a good speech because I can't connect with the audience. There are a lot of little things in this one fear; sounding dumb or unprepared, not getting the point acrossed, interpreting the original question wrong and so on and so forth. We have all been in the situation where it is almost painful to listen to or watch a preson speak because thery are doing such a terrible job. Obviously in these instances the speaker has not been able to connect with the audience and that to me seems like one of the hardest tasks of public speaking. There are many ways to over come this but I feel like the biggest factor and best help is the old saying practice makes perfect. I know that the more I practice the speech before I give it and also, the more I actually present speeches will make the whole idea much less scary. After time I hope that I will feel much more comfortable in front of groups of all kinds. After having to give speeches in a few different settings I have noticed that the more that is known about an audience before hand the beter I have felt about a speech. With this class I know that all these things are traits that I can walk away from this semester with.
I was a snowboard instructor throughout college. I have always had a love for snowboarding. I absolutely love to be up on the mountain doing some thing that I find exciting. I've been snowboarding for about 7 years now. Becoming a snowboard instructor is actually a pretty competitive process. To work at Beaver Mtn we had to take a 3 week class to prepare us for the hiring process. There is a writing, skill, and teaching test that they grade you on. During the tests I was extremely confident that I knew what I was doing. Here are the things that helped me feel confident; I was super interested in the subject, I knew a lot about it, and I was around people I like. If I want to be confident about something I need to know a good amount about it. I also need to be interested in the subject I am trying to speak to others about.
What is my biggest fear in public speaking and how can i overcome it?..Well, it may be hard to pinpoint one, so ill discuss all of my fears. One fear relates to a personal issue that I have. I feel as though people are critiquing me while i'm speaking. I care a lot about what others think and if I am not doing a good job, it's embarrassing. The topic on perspiration is not on the top of my fears, but who wants sweat showing. That fear can be overcome by understanding the physiological reasons for sweating and knowing it happens to most everyone. I critique myself a lot, and if I say too many ums or pause for too long, now that is scary. To overcome any fear you must first face it head on. Have confidence in yourself that you can do a great presentation. Practicing is the number one thing when it comes to getting over this fear. But fear can be a fun ride, too!
What is your biggest fear in public speaking and how can you overcome it?
My biggest fear in Public Speaking is going up to speak and not remembering what I was going to say. I don’t want to stand up there looking like an idiot and saying "Ummmmm" and "Uhhhhh" a lot. Im worried that I will look like an unintelligent, socially awkward individual. To help overcome my fear of forgetfulness, I need to make sure I am fully prepared for my speech. Also I need to gain a sense of self confidence because if I do, people wouldn’t notice my fear. Sometimes when I watch people go up to speak and they are doing a terrible job, I think to myself “I am so happy I am not you right now!”. I don’t want to be that person that everybody doesn’t want to be. So I feel if I practice and and stay confident then I will be able to overcome my fear.
“What is your biggest fear in public speaking and how can you overcome it?” - My biggest fear in public speaking is that the audience will be completely disengaged and no matter what I do I will be unable to draw them into the prepared remarks in an interesting and meaningful way. This has happened to me before. The group I was speaking to was foreign and there was a translator. No matter what I said the group would not respond the way I thought they should - that is, the way other groups of the same nationality responded without a translator. I probably should have just shrugged this off as the result of a poor translator but it stuck with me and that remains my biggest fear. The way I get over it is to just jump in and hope to engage the audience. So far I haven't had another experience like this one and I hope to keep it that way.
All through my life I have played competitive soccer. My teams often would travel to California, Nevada, and other western states. On top of that I was able to play at Dixie State for our inaugural year of collegiate soccer. I have faced anxiety on a big stage many times. When I found myself in finals and just big games I would give myself a minute before the whistle blew and envision myself executing what I need to do well. I would envision what I had done earlier that week in practice. So therefore the most important item in avoiding anxiety, to me, is practice practice practice. I also feel that anxiety allows us to be able our best potential! So if we practice what we need to execute our anxiety will transcend us to success!
Question 2.
This summer I had the opportunity to help coach a high school club volleyball team. I got so excited because that is definitely my forte. I play volleyball for Dixie and if I were to be 100% comfortable speaking in front of a group of people it would definitely be on the volleyball court. I felt so comfortable doing this and I felt very comfortable teaching and talking to the whole team about something that I know so much about. I realized that it definitely helps to talk about something that you are passionate about because then the words you say are more believable and more valid. As opposed to telling a class or group of people about something or someone who hardly know anything about. SO next time I give a speech I'd really like to tell people about something that comes from my heart or something that I've researched a lot about. I think people can really tell a difference!
One major technique that I use is actually rather strange…I do something physical. Sometimes I do jumping jacks, pushups, running in circles and other times it’s stretching, gripping something extremely hard, or just simply tapping my feet. I usually do these an hour before speaking because it helps me to get my nerves out, helps me to feel good, and then lets me focus because my blood is pumping and the oxygen in my brain is plentiful. Another method that I use to get rid of anxiety is music. I listen to a song that has a similar feel to my speech. For example if my speech is really strong and intense I will listen to a fast paced, steady beat song; whereas if I am giving a talk in church I will listen to a more mellow song. This helps me to put my nervous energy into something else and be able to get in the mood of the setting that I am about to create.
Without sounding too repetitive, preparation is what made all the difference. I had an opportunity to speak to over a thousand people on a topic that at least 60% of those in attendance were likely to have more life experience than I had. The topic was one that I knew a lot about however and felt comfortable speaking about. I did not just rely on the off the top of my head remarks for the speech however. I wanted to do a good job. I prepared by reading from several sources to find quotations and facts that supported my claims. I clearly market those quotes so when I turned to the page, there was no confusion about where I was reading. I put bright colored tabs on the pages with the quotes so they were easy to flip to. I then numbered each tab in order of how I wanted to use them. I also drew a small picture on the tab that reminded me of what the quote was about, in case I needed to cut out information or adjust to the needs of the audience. I read and re read those quotes out loud. Doing so made it easy for me to know when to pause, when to take a breath and when I could look up at the audience. Lastly, I made an outline with large words that made it easy to refer to. This much preparation lead to the most successful speech I’ve given to date. Having a wealth of quotes and facts to draw from made it so I could draw on them when I felt they would be appropriate. By being prepared, it actually freed me. It made it so I could speak more from the heart and with more conviction, rather than reading from a book.
4. The times I have felt most comfortable in front of an audience was in high school when I played volleyball. It is weird for me to think that during volleyball I loved the games, I loved the attention, and being in front of people, I even made a lot of eye contact with the audience just to see their reactions when something good happened but I hated speeches. It’s almost the same thing but I was by myself rather than with a team. It turns out to be the exact opposite with speeches than volleyball I hated people looking at me, I hated being in front of them whether they paid attention or not. For volleyball I would visualize what I would do in the game before the game. I have never tried that for public speaking. I know it helped me with volleyball so it should help with public speaking because the both involve having a mental game.
When I was a teenager I could have got my Eagle Scout award but I was too scared to talk in church. I fulfilled every other requirement, but there was no way that I was talking in front of a crowd. A few years later, I went on a mission for my church and the first Sunday I was forced to give a talk to a group of about fourteen people. I threw up. I quickly learned, because I was speaking every Sunday, how to calm down. I started using a technique I had seen baseball players use where they go through a routine-- A batter step out of the box, scratches and sniffs and steps back into the box. Fighters go through about a four point combo routine to accomplish the same thing. It gets your body and mind familiar with what you're doing. After I learned this trick public speaking became very natural to me and I wish I had the Eagle Scout to go with it.
My biggest fear in public speaking is being so nervous I forget my speech. The best way not forget my speech is to prepare and practice. This sounds so simple but it is really a several step process. First of all, pick a subject matter that I am familiar with that way if I forget some of my speech I can just add to it. Second would be to do a bunch of research and expound my knowledge on the topic. Third would be to get some stories or illustrations to back up my points. Forth would be to build my speech and practice.
You might think that you are done at this point but this is where the real work begins. In building your speech you have to know who your target audience is and the point you want to make. You have to practice and revise your speech, you have to give it out loud and have your family or your friends listen to you, practice your timing and breath and hope you get through it.
One of the best ways I have found to relieve my anxiety before a speech is to over prepare. When I prepare my speech I prepare way to much information. I figure if I plan more than I need, then when I am speaking I can cut things out or if i talk to fast I have enough info to fill the time. Another thing that I used to do when I wasn't very confident was to plan my entire speech out, word for word, then I would memorize it. Now I just get my topics and practice infront of a timer. The timer is super helpful becuase I can gauge how fast I am talking or if I have enough info prepared. Another thing that is really helpful is knowing that when you are speaking in this class you are not alone. Everyone in class has to speak, so they know what you are going through and are sympathetic when you mess up.
2.Describe a time that you felt confident in an activity you were doing. How did you feel, what did you do to prepare, and how can you recreate that feeling when you are going to give a speech?
I have played numerous sports my whole life. Some I haven't liked so much and others I have loved playing. One of my favorite sports to play is football. In high school I was on the football team. We practiced everyday all summer and throughout the football season. I was a starter my senior year. It is very important to work hard in practice so you can perform well at the games. I remember before our first game of the season I was always a little nervous about what would happen at the game. Once I got out on the field the nervousness always went away and I played my best for the sake of my team. When I give speeches it is hard to stay calm. When playing football I learned to not get so nervous because I knew the whole team was there to support me. If I can learn to focus on the comfort I feel on the field while giving speeches, it will really help me to feel calm and not get as nervous. I have to say, that is definitely easier said than done.
My biggest fear in public speacking having everyone know that i have a fear with public speaking. Showing signs of anxiety or nervousness is kind of imberrasing to me. For instance, when im really nervous, i tend to shake and if the class sees me shake i would find that humiliating. I want to appear chill and relaxed like ive done it a million times. I prevent this from happening, by moving my hands alot. If i move my hands, the tension is released and they wont shake as much. plus, if my hands are moving its pretty hard to tell that they are shaking. also making the class and my self laugh is another way of relieving nervousness. So having a fear of showing fear is kind of a funny concept but im able to hide it by comic relief and movement of the hands.
I don't really have a fear of being in front of people, or of performing, or of being the center of attention. However, for whatever reason, whenever I am speaking on a subject that people think I know a lot about (whether I do or don't), I get really nervous. This happened the first time I led a CrossFit class. I got up in front of everyone, I knew exactly what I wanted to say and what I was going to do, but then when the lights came on and it was time to perform, I totally froze up! I couldn't do or say anything, and I just had to wing it best I could despite the fact that my brain was nearly completely empty! And this was the most bizarre thing for me because this never happens. And now I'm a bit more confident in my ability to instruct a class, however, I get nervous that everyone is critiquing everything I do and so my throat dries up and I get very self conscious. And I think the best way for me to overcome this fear is to just continue challenging myself, increase my knowledge of the subject, and learn from my mistakes.
I've found that when I'm anxious for a speech, my mind tends to just go blank. I forget everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) that I haven't written down. As a result, I make sure that my outlines are extremely detailed, so that if I ever have an "oh crap" moment where I forget what I'm talking about, I have the outline there to fall back on. This greatly eases my mind, and a lot of times I don't even need the outline. Just knowing that I have it there causes me to relax and remember the things I need to remember.
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