fear of public speaking essay

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In this personal narrative, the writer will share their journey of overcoming the fear of public speaking. The essay will describe the challenges faced, strategies employed, and the personal growth experienced through this journey. It will discuss the impact of public speaking anxiety on personal and professional life and how overcoming it can lead to increased confidence and opportunities. The piece will provide insights and tips for others who struggle with similar fears, highlighting the importance of perseverance and self-improvement. On PapersOwl, there’s also a selection of free essay templates associated with Anxiety.

Anxiety , Communication , Fear , Human Nature , Public Speaking

How it works

“Jagger, you’re up.” My eighth-grade Social Studies teacher glanced at me with her bespeckled eyes and congenial smile.

I had meticulously tweaked my speech several times over the past week to ensure I would be less nervous about the presentation. The five index cards allocated to me by my teacher were filled with microscopic notes I had made to ensure I remembered every detail. This effort, unfortunately, proved futile as I quickly lost my train of thought. Maintaining eye contact with my audience turned into me losing my place in my speech several times. Projecting my voice became a laborious act as my voice shook in agony of the task at hand. Midway through my speech, I stopped and left the room.

After that day, I thought about my speech and ran through it once more in my head. In doing so, I thought about my discussion of the advancement of America throughout history and the connection I made to my personal motto, “Excelsior”. This word, which I chose to live by after hearing it in the film Silver Linings Playbook, means “onward to greater things”. Inspired by this concept, I realized the irrationality of my fear and from that point on, I did everything in my power to overcome it. In this process, my confidence soared. I jumped at the chance to get in front of my classmates and enthusiastically presented my thoughts whenever I was given the chance. I entered organizations that required public speaking and assumed leadership roles within them. Soon enough, the overbearing feeling I would get before presentations became nothing more than a trivial discomfort. It was as if the ideas I had inside me grew tired of hiding from the world and began to force themselves out of me.

Overcoming my fear of public speaking was a journey of self-improvement and discovery. That fear once kept me from countless leadership and educational opportunities that I now pursue with every chance I am given. I have continued to use my voice as a way to offer new insight into class discussions and to breathe new life into lessons that would be otherwise unstimulating. Doing these things allows me to not only reap more benefits from my education but also to show others who may still be terrified of speaking in front of their classmates that it is okay to come out of their shell. After all, everyone has meaningful opinions to offer, but it takes courage and confidence to express them. How can we possibly hope to change the world if we refuse to let our ideas be heard?

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Fear of public speaking Essay

5 Works Cited

Personal Narrative Analysis

From exploring the Internet to acquiring my classmate's opinion, I came to realize that nothing had worked for me and needed to come up with my own tactics. So, I've adopted the habit of practice until made perfect. This motto that I abide by has been utilized since the early stages of my life. I remember the first time I learned how to ride a bike. At first, I was taught the basic understanding. Then it was all about the enduring practice until I had gained confidence to successfully perform the task. I took what I did in the past, and I applied it to the obstacles that I had found most difficult such as riding a bike. Carrying over the same experience for the twelve-year-old me, I struggled with public speaking for as long as I could have remembered. In order to conquer this phobia, I had practiced speaking in front of the mirror over and over again, until it was simply second-nature to

Glossophobi Personal Narrative

I am glad to know that public speaking anxiety affects many others and strangely, just by thinking about others struggling with something similar, it reduces my anxiety. I plan to take each assignment from this class and learn as much as possible. Picking an interesting topic, starting research early, and good organization will help to build an effective speech and adequate practice will ensure a clear delivery. I will continue to use deep breathing and incorporate relaxation techniques to help ease the physical symptoms before a speech. Also by practicing often, the material will be familiar and my past speech experience has shown that I will be less stressed. Once again, practicing and working through slip-ups will also reduce

Public Speaking Informative Presentation

The most difficult part in presenting to an audience is the anxiety that can happen with public speaking. As David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace (as cited by Geraldine Hynes, 2016) found out when they conducted a surveyed that consisted of three thousand individuals sharing; they felt more fear of public speaking, then that of dying. Consequently, as nerve racking as public speaking can be, for people to improve their skills, he/she must practice presenting and self-reflection on each of their presentation.

Speech Outline

O'Hair, D., Rubenstein, H., & Stewart, R. A. (2016). 3/Organization. In A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking (Third ed., pp. 92-121). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, a Macmillan Education Imprint.

Exploring Anxiety In Film

Public speaking was a debilitating anxiety that I allowed to obliterate my self-confidence along with my self-esteem and prevented me from accepting opportunities. I lived with this fear, for quite a while, that is until my neighborhood blackout thrust me out of my comfort zone and eventually helped me grow and cope with my anxiety. Consequently, today when I walk out to rooms full of people, whether it is an introduction, hosting an event, or officiating a ceremony, I am always reflecting back to the day I was working at the theater. Going about my day when the blackout occurred. Suddenly, it was all hands on deck, which forced me out of my comfort zone and for the sake of public safety I needed to engage with an auditorium full of strangers

Public Speech In Middle School

Public speaking is a subject most struggle with throughout their entire lives. Many think that after you learn how to public speak through presentations in middle school or high school you just get over how frightening it can be and learn to cope with the struggles of it. In many instances that is true. Depending on where, in schools students usually start public speaking while doing presentations every other week in a middle school class. Then gradually over the years you get more assignments slowly increasing the amount you public speak until you are comfortable to do it alone or for a certain period of time. For some students, like your’s truly, public speaking can be quite nerve racking. The fear of completely failing astronomically. One

Public Speaking Argument Paper

As an introvert growing up, public speaking was never something I considered taking up; a few years ago, the mere thought of speaking in front of an audience would have terrified me. That, however, changed within a couple of years, solidifying through an event- a tournament held by the National Speech and Debate Association in Dallas, Texas.

Public Speaking Anxiety Vs Psa

After completing the Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety(PSA) and the Communication Apprehension Quiz(CAQ), the results of my scores were both in the moderate level of anxiety range. However, when comparing the two separate assessments of speaking anxiety, it is apparent that the PSA assessment focused its questions on delivering only speeches, whereas the CAQ focused on several different conditions in which one may be communicating. The CAQ writers placed emphasis on simple group discussions, talking at meetings, and delivering speeches.

Process Essay: The Controversy Of Public Speaking

Public speaking is something I’m not afraid or challenged by. Its an easy topic, and it only takes a few things that I have come to know to make a great public speaker. To be successful at public speaking you should make sure your knowing your topic, but it also comes down strong speaking, confidence, and sharing information with your audience that's something they want to hear while keeping it on topic. Public speaking is important to use in any circumstance with a large crowd of people.

Fear Of Public Speaking In Public

According to a Chapman University survey on American fears, more than twenty-five percent of Americans’ biggest fear is public speaking (Ingraham, 2014). This ranked higher than heights, bugs, snakes, blood, and even dying. So what is it about speaking in public that is scary? And how can one get over this fear? It turns out that “most people tend to be anxious before doing something important in public” (Lucas, 2015, page 9). Being afraid of speaking in public is very common, and many people will never be able to completely overcome the fear of public speaking. However, there are many ways to manage and control this fear.

My Fear of Public Speaking

Many organizations continually search for aspiring professionals with leadership qualities and the ability to effectively speak to fellow professionals, at conferences, seminars, and outside the company environment. However, several professionals who are subject matter experts are terrified if called upon to speak to an audience. What lends to more poignancy to this issue is the fact that the positions of these professionals may be at stake. Several have lost their positions or have been overlooked for promotion because of their inability to deliver effective speeches. Yet, the lack of public speaking skills among promising professionals continues to be a major concern for several organizations.

Public Speaking Class : Overcoming My Fears

Many people have a monumental fear of public speaking. I found the following quote by comedian Jerry Seinfeld quite funny, yet somewhat true. He stated that “according to most studies, people 's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you 're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” (Blogspot, 2013). While this is a hyperbole just to show the answer to survey questions by WebMD, I feel like there is a great truth to the fact that public speaking brings great anxiety to many people, including myself. In fact, this class was the one that I had the most angst about once I saw my schedule. This class and fear of speaking in front of strangers became a ferocious untamed beast that was preying on my mind and self-confidence. It was not so bad when practicing alone, with my friends, family or even my learning team but as soon as the camera was rolling that predatory beast became hungry, tearing at my self-conscious and filling me with doubt and negative thoughts. I became so afraid because I was comparing my performance to my peers rather than trying to be my best version of myself. This was a challenge for me, one that I am determined to overcome. I have embraced this challenge and I know that there are several areas I need to improve upon, some areas that I have experienced individual growth already, and I have

Public Speaking Fear

Fear is an activity that emerges from a non desired emotional encounter, and in some cases it emerges from one's imagination. Heights, Animals, and closed spaces are some of the most common feared elements out there, but the truth is, public speaking should be at the top of the list. It’s Glossophobia the actual term for this activity, and many people have a problem trying to overcome this devastating emotion. These kind of emotion can lead people to health issues, such as depression, traumatization.

Public Speaking Essay

One of America’s biggest fears is public speaking. Public speaking is one of everyone’s biggest fears right there with death and skydiving. It was also one of mine, and yet I have come to love it. My first experience was in front of my ag science 1 class, just like most I failed the first time and have continued to use that experience to grow as an individual and grow to love the idea of public speaking. Every once in awhile you are given a chance you think that you could never make it through. I was given one and looking back on it I am glad that I took it and was able to grow as an individual and learn a lot.

Personal Narrative Speech : Personal Speech

You are tense. Restless. Trembling. The end is near. Heart racing. Lungs chasing. All you have to do is speak. All you can do is think. You have to present in front of the class but your nerves always seems to get the best of you. Does this sound like you? If it does, you’re not alone. Approximately 75% of all Americans suffer from a fear of public speaking or, glossophobia. What is I told you, you could reduce this fear to be comfortable enough to speak in a classroom setting? It’s possible, and today, it’s my story.

Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking

Category: Life , Sociology , Psychology
Topic: Fear , Personal Life , Phobias

Pages: 1 (647 words)

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