The Struggle of Public Speaking

Throughout my years in school, I find that public speaking can be very difficult for some, including myself. But as the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect”. While there is no one speech that can be defined as “perfect”, individuals are able to improve upon this craft.

Becoming a “great speaker” usually does not come overnight. I remember when I had to practice my presentation skills in front of mirror or family for an upcoming school projects or Powerpoints, and yet I still had multiple problems arise. One of these problems was self-doubt, and another was of fear.

Self-doubt held me back a bit, for I had thought that my presentation could not live up to grade, nor to the liking of my audience. But then I realized, these thoughts of failure do not translate to what I will do when the time comes to actually present and speak up to my colleagues and/or peers. Fear also held me back because of the nervousness and jitters of being in front of an X amount of people.

While I have stumbled and fumbled my words in a speech multiple times, I am still here, alive and well. Each failure that I encountered via public speaking is not a loss, but a lesson. It turns out that the top fear, according to multiple surveys, was public speaking, and death was held at #2. While this may speak volumes, public speaking should not be a thing that defines you. There are other things in life that people stress about than just a simple speech. Not everyone has access to food or water, nor a home to live in, so why let a speech and/or presentation hold you back? It is not the end of the world.

In terms of professional skill development, there will come a time to present something. Whether it be proposing a business deal, demonstrating a school project, or even going through an interview, having good speaking and communication skills will benefit you in the long run. I have lived through the harsh reality of embarrassingly mixing some words and sentences up, but I have moved past that and became better at speaking through each experience. Again, it is not the end of the world, but perhaps your speech, if well executed, could be the one written in the history books. Don’t let fear hold you back in delivering your speech, because as one hall of famer once said, “Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion”- Michael Jordan.

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