Overcoming My Fear Of Speaking In Public

It is normal for many people for most of the people to have performance anxiety when performing speeches or talking in front of small or large audiences. Public speaking is a common fear among the human race, and 75 percent of the population has this fear. We have ways of overcoming the fear of public speaking like taking deep breaths or practising more, but many people prefer to face the challenge of speaking in public (Antony, 2017).

For me and Kevin, our first experience speaking in public was very tormenting. We had just lost in the first round of our debate national qualifying tournament. Only the top three teams in the competition after completing the rounds. We had lost one round, and we had six more shots to go.

Since my childhood, speaking in public has been one of my significant weaknesses. It did not matter if I was talking during my class presentation or in front of a large audience, it would always have my heart thumping on my chest, and I would stammer and start worrying about everything. It was very tormenting, and I felt like running away from any large crowd. When I was in my first grade, I cringed making my presentation about the Mayan culture. It was such a disaster, I failed to utter a single word, and the teacher had to send me back to my seat. It was very frustrating and embarrassing, and I couldn’t obstruct tears from flowing down my cheeks once I had got to my position.

Another bad experience with my great fear came in my third grade. My stress and anxiety of speaking in public were slowly creeping and growing in me. I was a big admirer of other people who seemed calm and had a free flow of words during their speeches, but it just seemed too hard for me to master their natural skill. I remember a vividly a day in my third grade when I stood in front of a class, and I was holding a wooden cane and wearing a thick overcoat generally my dressing resembles Louis Braille. Hung on the board were aluminum words in braille. As I was about to present my masterpiece on Braille’s lifetime achievements, I became very nervous breakdown and every simple thought I had prepared for the presentation just disappeared into thin air. What was happening to me? Was I this bad? My soul crushed, and over time I have tried to motivate myself from this fear, but I always end up failing.

My redemption came in 2012 when I was in my sixth grade. The presidential debates gave me a life-changing inspiration. I could not fathom the thoughts that went through my brain or the feelings I had seen these great champions face each other in a heated debate. My inspiration to join the debate club in my freshman year was the 2012 presidential debate. I partnered with my friend Sanjay and started our journey to join the freshman debate club.

I was still afraid of crowds, and I mumbled and quivered through my first few tournaments despite mimicking my political inspirations. The first season we experienced zero wins which prompted Sanjay to decide to quit the debate club. His decision to leave gave me a resounding motivation, and I decided to move to a school with one of the best debate teams in our state.

I was very focused on improving my speaking skills; I enrolled in the summer debate club where we had great speakers and debaters all over. I would do impromptu presentations and did countless drills regularly. I believe practising results in perfection, and I found myself enrolled in different activities where I got to practice my speaking and argument skills. I was able to understand and control my crowd phobia. At times I found myself telling jokes to the crowd, and I was thrilled and proud of my growth.

My new-found confidence found me my partner Kevin who we spent countless hours practising and improving our skills by discussing arguing and brainstorming. Although we made it to the national qualifiers, our chances of proceeding were very slim, but I was happy and motivated by what I had achieved so far.

Overcoming my stage fear has shaped me from a timid adult to a responsible adult who is expressive enough and confident in facing his challenges. I have learned more than just confidence and relating with a crowd. I have mastered the art of persevering in overcoming one’s weaknesses rather than living with them. I have also learned the importance of teamwork and how fulfilling it is to build other people up until they find their voice.

Works Cited

Antony, Martin M., and Richard P. Swinson. The shyness and social anxiety workbook: Proven, step-by-step techniques for overcoming your fear. New Harbinger Publications, 2017.