When my boss came to me and asked me to find a public speaking trainer, I was fine with that. In fact, I thought it was a great idea for those few people at Oneupweb who are often asked to be speakers and panelists at industry events. Little did I know that she wanted me to be in the class as well. That’s when things got tough.
Image: Communicate by aturkus
Lately, I hate public speaking. I hate the idea of people looking at me as I talk, and of what must be going through their heads. In fact, I concentrate on that rather than what I’m doing, I get nervous, my face gets red, I get aware of the fact that it’s red, and it gets even redder. And lately, I’ve developed this shaky voice thing.
It wasn’t always this way.
I used to love acting and participating in group discussions. I used to love meeting new people, face-to-face. And I even had a speech class once, and I got an A. So what happened?
Now, I realize I can’t blame all of my fears on technology. But I can’t help but wonder if I’ve lost some important communication skills as I’ve begun using technology more and more to communicate. Just stop and think about that for a minute. You have to ask someone a question (perhaps it’s a question about the rate of a full page, four color ad in a print publication). Do you pick up the phone and call your advertising rep, or do you shoot off a quick email? (I bet you can guess which it is that I do).
Now I’m sure you’re going to say something like, “Sure, we use technology a lot more rather than face to face interaction. But we’re still being social. Look at Twitter and Facebook.”
And you’d be right. Humans, by nature, are social (in my opinion. I don’t know if this is a scientific fact.) And we do use technology to communicate with each other. But as I was preparing for my first speech last night, a thought crossed my mind. How much better would my communication skills be if, when I was curious about what someone was up to, I picked up the phone and called them rather than jumping on Facebook?
Maybe if I practiced speaking in my every day life, it wouldn’t seem so awkward when I stand up in front of a group of people who will be focusing on my words. Maybe then, I would remember to breathe.
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I remember how nervous I used to get about public speaking. I hate it like so many others. And then my senior year of college (MSU) happened.
I stepped out of my comfort zone and took a big risk. At the first instance it was followed by near silence, with my friend in the front row dropping her jaw and shaking her head to as if she was saying “don’t do it”. Then I did it. And everyone burst out laughing, professor included.
Quite frankly, it was the single most quintessential moment for me in college (at least academically). I had to give about 15 speaking presentations my senior year, and because of that one moment it made every other one a breeze. I have even been invited to speak at a professional lecture series since.
I guess it all came down to being myself and allowing myself to thrive on the things I knew best.
Thanks for the advice! I’m trying my best to do just that, I just have this terrible problem with remembering to breathe while I talk. My next presentation is Friday, so wish me luck!