This week’s blog assignment stemmed from an online sentences
in the way I felt I communicated publicly, as well as how I communicate in one
on one situations.
I am a person that hesitates when it comes to public
speaking, I get nervous and find myself talking extremely too fast! What
surprised was that my closest friend and co-worker assessed me as the kind of
person that was comfortable speaking in front of large crowds, and felt as
though I shut down during small group meetings. I, on the other hand disagree,
I am always a nervous wreck when speaking in front of crowds and would rather
speak one on one, or even in a small group.
What I learned from this activity was that, my feelings, and
level of comfort towards communicating publicly, is definitely masked through
my determination of getting through any presentations, or opportunities I have
to do so. The way my family and co- workers view my level of comfort, is as if
I come across as being the type of person that communicate clearly, and
effective.
As a professional in the early child hood field, I not only
communicate with my children, but with my families as well during school
readiness meetings, and family night. In order to get over my fear of public
speaking, I feel as though practicing in small groups more would be helpful, as
well as practicing relaxation techniques, and really working with myself to
find out what really makes me nervous speaking in front of large groups. Is it
the people in general? Or the fact that I am afraid to fail, although I know I
am fully prepared, and knowledgeable about the topic?
Great post Cynthia!
ReplyDeleteI also use to get nervous when speaking in public and I remember when my heart would start to beat fast because of fear, but since I became program director of several learning centers, the fear left because of my position as program director- I was forced to hold staff meetings and talk in front of people which helped me get use to public speaking and now it has gotten better for me talking with parents, the community or talking to small groups- it gets easier.
Hello Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteGood reflective question in your last paragraph. You are right that in order to overcome our fear, we need to know what it is. It seems like you did great in public speaking as your audience view you are competent speaker. It could be because you are well prepared and show confident during the speech which is very important !
Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteI feel you on this one. I don't like giving presentations, or speaking at meetings. I seemed to get tongue tied, stuttering and braking out in sweat. I got over my fear when I had to take a speech class in high school and my teacher really gave me some great pointers in delivering speeches correctly.
Hi Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteI agree that sometimes our nerves get the best of us while speaking in front of groups. You might have a fear of failure, or you really just need more opportunities to speak in front of large groups. Great commentary on public speaking!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your blog. I am still very nervous about speaking in public. In small groups, I am okay. Your question of finding out what causes this nervousness is great. I never thought about doing that. I sometimes have the fear of getting lost in my notes or that the audience will get restless and not be interested in what I have to say. I think we just have to evaluate each audience and prepare our presentation accordingly.
I shut down when I have to speak publicly too. I do better speaking in front of small groups rather than large groups. I also speak very fast. My grandfather before he passed away asked me to deliver his eulogy. It was the scariest thing I have ever done. I was incredibly nervous. I must have talked very fast because people asked me afterwards if they could have a copy of what I read because they didn't get it all. I've learned from my mistakes to slow down.
ReplyDelete