First entry
Hello and welcome to my very first blog. I never thought I'd ever make one so I honestly don't know how this is suppose to look or sound but I've seen a few blogs before so I'll try my best.
I think it was around two weeks ago that we had to do our introduction speeches in class and let me tell you, I hated it. If I'm going to be honest, I would never take a class like this if I wasn't told it was required. But, it is so I suffered through it. I've always been that way with talking though. I hate talking, so of course I don't like giving speeches.
The whole thing stems from two things; being an introvert and having severe anxiety.
Since I'm an introvert I like doing things by myself, which in the long run has made me very bad at communication skills. If I don't have to talk, I won't and even if I need to, I definitely won't. I don't talk to anyone unless they talk to me first, even then, I can't keep a conversation going.
Anxiety is the part of me where I get scared to talk. I get scared I'll screw up big time and get laughed at. It makes me stutter, shake, fidget, and get me so overwhelmed that I feel like I can't breathe. I've tried to talk to speech people, teacher, or anyone that could help me talk to people better and none of it has worked.
So in short, I suck at talking to people.
Hopefully this public speaking class will help me because I have a lot of weaknesses and not that many strengths when it comes to speeches. Weaknesses such as soft/quiet voice, shaky voice, fidgeting, and bad eye contact. Where as the only thing I think was a strength was the actual speech itself and not the way I presented it. But, because of the weaknesses, I doubt anyone could pay attention to the actual speech. I don't need to keep analyzing the way I give speeches because of the fact I've been told I have all these weaknesses but almost every English teacher I've ever had.
Good public speaking skills are not just about the way the person gave the speech. It is also the voice, attitude, credibility, the structure of the speech, and even the way the person is moving while giving the speech. You need to show you care about what you're talking about or no one will care. Fake it or not, just be interesting to keep their attention. Make eye contact but don't stare them down. Rehearse the speech so you don't go up there and have no clue what you're saying or at least look like it.
Whenever I go listen to events with speakers, you know that they will have good speaking skills. It's literally what they do. I went to the REMNANTS event (which was about the holocaust) and just listening to the way the man spoke was amazing. The way he spoke of survivors stories was so powerful that people cried (including me). And all of that was because of his speaking skills. His eye contact and enthusiasm. If he would've been monotone and just stood there, it wouldn't have had as much impact as it did.
All speeches are different though. Some speeches call for different tones or attitudes. Some are to be funny, others are to be serious. If you're giving a speech about yourself, you'll probably tell stories and be kinda funny, more informal. But if you're giving a speech about taxes then it'll be more serious and formal (if you give a speech on taxes, please try to lighten it up somehow and not as boring). Sometimes you even have to adapt to different audiences also. Not all audiences will want to hear the same things. Don't reference something from one generation if this generation won't understand it. Try to stay in the current time to keep people interested or so that they at least somewhat know what you're talking about.
So, to finish this blog entry, I will say that I have learned that there's a lot more to public speaking thank I ever thought there was. It’s actually a huge process and takes a lot more to be successful at than just talking in front of people. I'm really hoping this class will finally be my breakthrough for my struggles with speaking to others. Or just talking in general.
I think it was around two weeks ago that we had to do our introduction speeches in class and let me tell you, I hated it. If I'm going to be honest, I would never take a class like this if I wasn't told it was required. But, it is so I suffered through it. I've always been that way with talking though. I hate talking, so of course I don't like giving speeches.
The whole thing stems from two things; being an introvert and having severe anxiety.
Since I'm an introvert I like doing things by myself, which in the long run has made me very bad at communication skills. If I don't have to talk, I won't and even if I need to, I definitely won't. I don't talk to anyone unless they talk to me first, even then, I can't keep a conversation going.
Anxiety is the part of me where I get scared to talk. I get scared I'll screw up big time and get laughed at. It makes me stutter, shake, fidget, and get me so overwhelmed that I feel like I can't breathe. I've tried to talk to speech people, teacher, or anyone that could help me talk to people better and none of it has worked.
So in short, I suck at talking to people.
Hopefully this public speaking class will help me because I have a lot of weaknesses and not that many strengths when it comes to speeches. Weaknesses such as soft/quiet voice, shaky voice, fidgeting, and bad eye contact. Where as the only thing I think was a strength was the actual speech itself and not the way I presented it. But, because of the weaknesses, I doubt anyone could pay attention to the actual speech. I don't need to keep analyzing the way I give speeches because of the fact I've been told I have all these weaknesses but almost every English teacher I've ever had.
Good public speaking skills are not just about the way the person gave the speech. It is also the voice, attitude, credibility, the structure of the speech, and even the way the person is moving while giving the speech. You need to show you care about what you're talking about or no one will care. Fake it or not, just be interesting to keep their attention. Make eye contact but don't stare them down. Rehearse the speech so you don't go up there and have no clue what you're saying or at least look like it.
Whenever I go listen to events with speakers, you know that they will have good speaking skills. It's literally what they do. I went to the REMNANTS event (which was about the holocaust) and just listening to the way the man spoke was amazing. The way he spoke of survivors stories was so powerful that people cried (including me). And all of that was because of his speaking skills. His eye contact and enthusiasm. If he would've been monotone and just stood there, it wouldn't have had as much impact as it did.
All speeches are different though. Some speeches call for different tones or attitudes. Some are to be funny, others are to be serious. If you're giving a speech about yourself, you'll probably tell stories and be kinda funny, more informal. But if you're giving a speech about taxes then it'll be more serious and formal (if you give a speech on taxes, please try to lighten it up somehow and not as boring). Sometimes you even have to adapt to different audiences also. Not all audiences will want to hear the same things. Don't reference something from one generation if this generation won't understand it. Try to stay in the current time to keep people interested or so that they at least somewhat know what you're talking about.
So, to finish this blog entry, I will say that I have learned that there's a lot more to public speaking thank I ever thought there was. It’s actually a huge process and takes a lot more to be successful at than just talking in front of people. I'm really hoping this class will finally be my breakthrough for my struggles with speaking to others. Or just talking in general.
First of all, thanks so much for being creative! I like the look of this and I like that you added a little of your personality here. Second, this is well written and does a decent job meeting the requirements of the assignment. I do think you need to pull from the text a little bit more in how to handle what you are perceiving as your greatest weakness--anxiety. Let me tell you that this is PERFECTLY NORMAL. 85% of people feel this way. Also, what you claim to be almost debilitating, DID NOT SHOW to the audience. We couldn't tell you were that nervous, we loved listening to you talk about your art. Finally, don't let it become a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is the whole mind over matter thing -- don't talk yourself into failing. If you think positive thoughts, positive things tend to result. Look to the book on how to handle anxiety -- there are many tips. Pull from the text in that area.
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