I feel that everyone has a certain degree of nervousness or fear when speaking in public. Personally, for the most part I am quite confident when speaking in public, but I am not without my little insecurities. The only difference is that I CHOOSE to quiet those insecurities to produce an air of confidence and self-assurance, which is then projected to the audience. In reading the material, I learned that often speech anxiety (fear of speaking in front of an audience) is largely in response to temperament. In analyzing my past fears of public speaking, and my present semi-comfortability, this fact makes perfect sense. There was a period in my life in which I had an intense fear of public speaking. This was also at a time when I had moved to a new city, and did not know anyone. I felt very uncomfortable and uncertain of how I would be perceived by my new peers. This is an example of the Uncertainty Reduction Theory (when individuals face an uncertain or unfamiliar situation, their level of anxiety increases). Being the new girl I dealt with some harsh treatment from peers, leaving me feeling insecure. It wasn't until I moved back to my home town and was reacquainted with friends and family that my self-esteem started to rebuild, and I began gaining more confidence. As I gained confidence, my comfortability with public speaking increased as well. So essentially, as my personal confidence increased, so did my confidence in speaking in front of an audience. Because I felt happy and comfortable in my surroundings, I became a very outgoing person who LOVED to talk! This is something that I feel shows through in my public speaking.
The spotlight effect (the belief that other people observe us more critically than they really do) has had a previous effect on my public speaking in the past, and still effects my speaking in front of an audience today. That is not to say that I'm a nervous wreck my entire speech, wondering what people are thinking about me. I feel that the spotlight effect effects everyone to some degree. As human beings, we naturally overanalyze and wonder how others are perceiving us. The only difference is that some people allow those thoughts to overwhelm them, while others may accept them and push them aside. Personally, although I of course may wonder what others will think of my presentation, that is the farthest thing from my mind when I am actually speaking. I choose to push those negative thoughts out of my head and be confident in MYSELF. Because if you portray yourself as a confident person, others will have confidence in you as well :)
I wish I was this confident. The way you write and speak of yourself and your abilities makes me wish I could overcome my fear. I was originally taking this class because it is a requirement to transfer and that is it, but my reasoning has changed for the better. I can only hope I learn from this experience and gain the confidence you already seem to have. I have extreme anxiety when speaking in front of any type of crowd. I believe it does hold me back with not only my education, but also with my job. I really hope to gain a professional aspect to my speaking skills in this class.
ReplyDeleteI think I am going to practice some of your advice. Pushing aside the insecure thoughts and being confident with what I need to do. I think its great that you have built up your confidence by moving to a new place, being vulnerable and then moving back home to get comfortable again. You have such supportive words and you can see that your confidence is well portrayed through your writing, and Im guessing your public speaking will be just as delightful. When you were the new girl, why do you think people treated you harshly? Were they unwilling to be friendly, or what did they do to make you feel unwelcome? (If you dont mind my asking) It is rough to move and try to fit in, I can definitely see how confidence can go out the window in a situation like that, I think its great that despite those happenings, you still hold confidence in yourself.
ReplyDeleteJosa,
ReplyDeleteIn simplest terms...kids can be mean and immature. I moved to a city in which I was the minority (which was a first for a whitey like me lol). Also the middle school I went to was full of clicks and most everyone knew each other. It was tough. Anyways, I'm delighted to hear that you are willing to try and take my advice. Trust me, it can do wonders. If you tell yourself and your audience that you are a confident speaker, you will become one :) Also, thanks for the kind words!