It is becoming a rather common knowledge that most people would prefer death over standing in front of an audience and speak. As my public speaking lecturer had placed it (very suitably, in fact) that at a funeral, most people would prefer to be in the coffin than be the person who is going to do the eulogy.
Yes, of course, my classmates laughed at this, so do I, but I couldn't help but wondering at the power of our mind. You see, it's actually our brain... our thoughts that had made public speaking such a terrible thing. Various worse case senarios (like tripping over your own feet when you approach the podium on stage) pop up every time most people think of public speaking. And, being pessimists, the chance of those worse case scenarios of ever happening elevated drastically. Imagine, would you do anything that will actually embarrass yourself?
Thus, I concluded that (this may be an incorrect conclusion but well...) humans are somewhat vain.
Besides, some people are afraid of being 'stared'/'looked' at (I think this is commonly called as Stage Fright). If you are the speaker, the audience will undoubtedly (except those who are not paying attention ofc) look at you as you speak to catch hold of your gestures, facial expressions etc. However, if you can't stand that sort of scrutiny, then either speaking is just not for you or you can just overcome that (it's not easy, but it CAN be done).
Furthermore, audience feedback can be crucial in helping the speaker. Negative feedback will definitely undermine the speaker's confidence in a blink of the eye. Just imagine: if you're speaking on stage (after spending days gathering up your courage) but more than half of the audience are speaking among themselves throughout your speech. Feeling that you efforts are wasted? Feeling frustrated that you can't hold the audience's attention/ that no one is paying attention? As a result of those negative thoughts, you will *probably and gradually* lose your enthusiasm for public speaking.
So, ... actually I didn't want to make this post to sound so 'essay-like' but well... heheh, what to do... , this sudden interest in writing about public speaking is actually caused by the upcoming public speaking exam :P
Oh, noes!! My mind wanders off again while I'm studying O.O I better get back and bury my head in my notes.
But, just remember *quote* "Public speaking is for everyone. It is not a talent that you're born with. It is a skill/knowledge that you can learn." *unquote* *quote is slightly edited* So, what are you waiting for?!?! Go and polish up your public speaking skills now - It will not be easy but I can guarantee that you won't regret it.
Original date of publish: February 11, 2009 at 1:43 am
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