speech

[jasmineH]

I know this may be off the subject of this forum but I am an undergrad and freaked about Speech class! I almost considered not finishing school because I was to scared. Its not like I can't talk to people, I just don't like being up in front of a crowd. Can anyone tell me if they took Interpersonal Communication, and if it was better than Public Speaking? Or even Group Communication?

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[Pilot]

Public speaking has to grow on you. The first public speech I made was terrible, but each one got better. The same thing will happen to you, so don't worry about it too much. Eventually I got to the point where I would take only an outline of what I wanted to discuss to the speech/lecture and just "winged" it. Those speeches are far more effective, and serve to encourage participation from the audience.

I did get tripped up one time when I had to give a persuasive speech in class at the University of Oklahoma. We were supposed to cover a topic we were familiar with, so naturally I decided to talk about skydiving, a sport I had never participated in. I skimmed a book on the subject, and the speech went well. I had the class in the palm of my hand. But, unbeknownst to me, my instructor was an accomplished skydiver. He asked several questions to which I bluffed my way through. After class, he took me aside and asked if I had ever skydived, to which I responded truthfully. He thought it was funny, but I still got a B on the speech.

I have since gone skydiving, and heartily recommend it.

 

[DaCrust]

I was in your situation before I took speech, too. I hate getting up in front of people and speaking to them, but the only way to get over your fear is to face it. This is a mandatory class for most schools and I'm sure you're not the only one who feels this way. Each speech gets easier as the class progresses.

My advice is learn how to take deep breaths. This technique helped me relax a little before each speech. The teacher can probably offer some advice on how to relax before speeches. If all else fails, you can picture someone naked in the audience. He He. Good luck and don't forget to have fun.

 

[cholecalciferol]

Practice in a mirror first. Then try it with a few family members. Since you are familiar with them stage fright will be minimal. Then, try your spiel on friend and acquaintance.

After all this practice, you should have less of a problem with stage fright. If you know what you are going to talk about, it will also help decrease stage fright.

 

[jasmineH]

Thanks for all the advice. I just have a real phobia about it. Plus the fact that I'm so soft spoken.

 

[ReneeWB]

I too waited until my last semester of school to take that dreaded speech class. I chose to take it at a community college during one of those Maymester classes where it was a 3 credit class crammed into two weeks. We had to do speeches practically every day, but I had a blast. I was petrified of speaking in front of the class, but when it was all over my teacher told me that I was her top student. Go figure! One thing that helped me was realizing that 90% of my classmates were as scared as I was. They really weren't too concerned about what I was doing, because they were sweating when it was going to be their turn.

Good luck.

Renee