God I am never doing public speaking again and intolerance makes me ill

[JohnKleeb]

If you guys didnt see it, I wrote a satire yesterday for english, I read it aloud today in class and I literally shook in my legs, I was that nervous. Then the "satire" that followed was a sick condemnation of gays, god it was awful, its just sad more than anything, I was more sad than angry.

[tjdee]

1. Public speaking is like the #1 fear of people. Above snakes, etc.

I learned that in my first public speaking class, LOL.
I love it (eh, maybe that's too strong!) but it freaks a lot of people out. I'm sure you did fine!

Also, the more you do it, the easier it is--just throwing that out there...

[JohnKleeb]

2. My legs literally shook

It was awful.

[giant_robot]

5. It's a good skill to learn.

The high school course that helped me most in college was typing, and the college course that helped me most in grad school was public speaking. Depending on your career path, you could be doing it for the rest of your life. The jitters never totally go away, but they get much, much less severe.

[JohnKleeb]

6. ahh typing, great skill to learn

I at least can do that.

[tjdee]

8. Typing ROCKED!

My mom made me take it, and it has been *so* helpful. Typing my (many many) college papers, and in fooling around on the internets...

[fudge stripe cookays]

20. I second this.

Take a basic communication/public speaking class as an elective if it's not mandatory for you.

It will really help you in planning what you'll say, and how you say it. And help to control your jitters.

And remember the old tip that a lot of people use: always imagine your audience in their underwear. They're not any better than you are; they're just in a different vantage point in the room.

It acts as the great equalizer when you're nervous.

FSC

[SoCalDem]

19. Three easy steps to curing public speaking jitters..

1. Pause a bit before you start.. breathe and "settle"
2. pick a "friendly face" and speak to them...
3. SLOW down.. (most people start to speed up as they go along)

Don't stop the speaking. Once you get the hang of it, it's fun.. There's nothing better than having a bunch of people paying attention to YOU :)

[ComerPerro]

21. Someone (I wanna say Seinfeld) said that fear of public speaking

ranked higher than fear of death in surveys.

"That means that at a funeral, most people would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy"

[tjdee]

22. It's true--

I didn't say that, even though I thought that's how I remembered it.

Seems weird, huh!

But I googled, and yeah, public speaking seems to be the number one fear.

[MrScorpio]

3. I love public speaking and I can tell you where you went wrong

You didn't take control of the audience.

They can smell fear.

I NEVER gave it to them

Audiences always ate out my hands.

[JohnKleeb]

4. People liked it, I found out later

but god why are people so damned intolerant.

[MrScorpio]

11. They're intolerant because their minds are closed

Next time point that out to them

All remind them that you're speaking and they're not

Tell them that unless it's their turn to speak, that they should keep their mouths closed and their minds open. That way they can learn something.

Prof. Kingsfield was da Man!

[JohnKleeb]

12. I dont talk much with him

but you knwo what was reliving, someone who I thought was my political opposite talking to me while I typed another paper later in the day and how he liked mine and was downright disgusted by the homophobia of the other's paper.

[Left Is Write]

7. I never liked public speaking either.

I was always more comfortable talking to 50,000 people behind a mic in the control room than I was standing on a stage in front of only a few hundred.

The biggest crowd I was ever in front of on a stage was 30,000 at the Chippewa Valley Country Fest in Wisconsin. Fortunately, I only had to talk for about thirty seconds.

[JohnKleeb]

9. Really, 50,000 people is a lot

You may laugh but this was 20 people around and some of whom agreed with my viewpoints.

[Left Is Write]

13. It's a lot, yes, but I didn't have to SEE them.

I was all by myself in a control room with a microphone and a control board. That's MUCH easier than what you did - standing in front of an audience and giving a speech.

[JohnKleeb]

14. Thats true, its ironic truly

that its easier to speak in front of a crowd larger than my hometown times two than a classroom of 20 people.

[Lavender Brown]

10. Speeches used to make me sick to my stomach

I would freak out. I'm still bad at it, but practice helps. :pals:

[Midlodemocrat]

15. I do public speaking a great deal for my job.

I think it is a valuable tool to try and master.

[JohnKleeb]

16. I can do well in small talk well

and I am normally not a bad public speaker.

[MuseRider]

17. It gets better

with practice, not that I have a great deal of experience but I do have some. I can do it now almost with ease as long as I am perfectly comfortable with my material and know it well.

Don't ask me about being interviewed on live TV though, I am afraid I was not so good there and could offer you no help. My husband taped it and I could see myself shake although no one else said they could.

[JohnKleeb]

18. I know

Thanks

[CubsFan1982]

23. I'm guessing you haven't done much public speaking before.

When you get to college, take a speech class. It's a much more mature place to learn the art of public speaking. Some people can do it naturally, some have to learn it. If you're facing a hostile audience, you have to go up there not giving a shit what the audience thinks of you and just state your case clearly, concisely, and well. Otherwise, you've already lost them.

But, really, take a speech course when you enter college. It'll really build up your confidence.

[WindRavenX]

24. I want to, but they're all closed to those fucking communication majors!

:grr:

[CubsFan1982]

26. Haha

I hope you saw my thinly veiled slam at business and comm majors in mark's "why am I the only college student not fraking out about finals?" thread. :D

[redqueen]

25. Well kudos for doing it despite your fear.

You'll find it gets easier every time.

As for the sicko... he's probably just a mule-fucker. At least now you can take every opportunity to ruthlessly mock him without remorse.

[Lex]

27. Kleeb, a friend of mine swears by "toastmasters" clubs.

You can find a local club on the website:

http://www.toastmasters.org/about.asp

She's says it was one of the most positive thing she'd ever done for herself--joining her local toastmasters club.