Thursday, November 27, 2014

Public speaking for the average joe

One of the most prevalent fears among individuals is glossophobia*, or in simple terms, the fear of public speaking. I myself do not have an irrational fear, but I experience a certain nervous tingle right before the impending speech or presentation. I once had an aggressive fear, but I suppose it was my ability to think sensibly at a young age that prepared me for a career so centred in mass and individual communication.

A long time ago, back in the days I used to live with my parents, I attended church regularly and made the decision to read scripture for a week. My dad had done it countless times before, so what would the big difference be right? Along I went studying the passage, partially memorizing some parts, and others just figuring out how to pronounce the outdated words. Along came Sunday and I was dressed to the nines and excited as ever. As I filled into the pew like normal, a pit in my stomach formed, and I started to panic. I knew my information well enough, so why was I so nervous? As my turn came, and I walked up to the podium, I was in a downright internal frenzy. I organized my papers agonizingly slowly to stall, and when I finally had to speak, my voice crumbled. I stumbled through the beginning, and my voice wavered into the final word. I went home that day and nearly cried because of the embarrassment, and wracked my brain trying to figure out why I had such trouble preforming such a seemingly easy task. For weeks I was hung up on the fact that I had failed.

It began coming more clear when I was sitting in the congregation one day and another person who was reading scripture stumbled on their words. No one batted an eye. It came to me that my anxiety, gave the crowd anxiety. If I mess up a word, it isn't a big deal, but if I worry through the scripture, it is a big deal. I realized the only way I could embarrass myself, is if I  work myself up with fear. People are generally kind, and they understand that mistakes happen, they feel what you feel. So when I would work myself up on thinking what I could do wrong, I realized it wasn't a big deal if I forgot how to pronounce a word. As long as I stayed confident and comfortable, then I would be successful.

I'm generally a very dramatic and aggressive person, so believing that I had to redeem myself, I signed right back up. The following week I continually reminded myself that if I'm uncomfortable, then everyone else would be uncomfortable, so why waste the time freaking out? I ended up speaking flawlessly. I even had members of my church come up to me afterwards and congratulate me on how captivating I had made the content. So I became a regular scripture reader, and the more I did it, the better I became. 

Although the solution to my problem couldn't possibly help many individuals who have an extreme irrational fear, I urge you to take a step back and consider if it could work for you. Time spent stressing out is time wasted. Especially if you are stressing out about something you have complete control over. Relax, breath, and practice. The world would be a much less anxious place.

*http://www.speech-topics-help.com/fear-of-public-speaking-statistics.html 

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