Public Speech Class

[2L8]

Hello this semester I'm required to take public speech in a classroom and I'm terrified of it even though I heard exceptional things about my professor. Has anyone ever taken this class and how did you fare?

[Ideas]

B&M? Why not online at an RA school?

[allvia]

I took my public speaking at a B&M.  You'll get through it; just be sure to prepare as best you can, and remember the most important thing - everyone else is just trying to get through it too (everyone there is just as nervous).  Focus on speaking slowly; at an even pace - in your want to get it done, you're likely to speed up your speech (practice with a timer helps here, even if it is just to yourself in a mirror)

I recommend getting it done early, before others - then everyone else is so focused on what they're going to do, that only the professor is paying much attention.  Also volunteering to go (first, or second) generally bodes well in the eye of the professor - they know it is the course people tend to fear.

[Ideas]

You will learn techniques at the start of the course and as you go along.

I think it helps seeing how nervous others are.

Most students seem much better after they get through the first speech. That happened to me.

[dfrecore]

My advice to my kid, who was terrified of public speaking: practice, practice, practice. She got to the point where she could almost do it by heart with no notes. Made it much easier to get through.

Then, she went to class, and saw how unprepared most people were, and it gave her an even bigger boost.

I also told her to pay attention to how she felt about other people's speeches - did she spend a lot of time critiquing them, think badly of them after they sat down, etc. She realized that she would think "yeah they're good" or "yikes, that guy didn't spend a lot of time working on this" and then as soon as the next person stood up and started talking, she'd forget about the person that just spoke. Another boost - no one is thinking much about you and your speech at all. They are thinking about their own, and then once they're done, they're just relieved to get it over with and still spend virtually no time thinking about anyone else. Takes a lot of the pressure off.

[cookderosa]

Hello this semester I'm required to take public speech in a classroom and I'm terrified of it even though I heard exceptional things about my professor. Has anyone ever taken this class and how did you fare?

This is going to sound crazy, but the more terrified you are of taking speech, probably the more you will benefit from doing so! One thing that's nice about doing it in person is that you'll get to know your classmates, and they'll support you- it won't be like you have to sell something to a big auditorium, they'll all be doing the same as you, trying to get through it and will have compassion for you. You can do it!!