Does anyone else dislike public speaking?

[gabosaurus]

I had to address a large group of educators on Tuesday morning. Scared the beejeebers out of me. I am OK with one-on-one and small groups. But large groups make me exceptionally nervous.

[dan]

As long as I know what I'm talking about, I don't mind public speaking. I'd actually prefer to adress a roomful of strangers than a small group of strangers, which is weird.

[CockySOB]

I'm fine with public speaking, although that ease came from experience of HAVING to do such public speaking. I can handle personal appearances fairly well now, especially when the audience is engaged. What I still have trouble with is watching or hearing a recording of my performances. I'm still my own worst critic it seems.

You'll get the hang of though, I'm sure. Like everything, the more you do it, the better you get, and the more at ease you become.

[CockySOB]

I had to address a large group of educators on Tuesday morning. Scared the beejeebers out of me. I am OK with one-on-one and small groups. But large groups make me exceptionally nervous.

The trick I use is to find someone in each section of the audience who appears attentive and interested. Then I focus on that one person while I finish a line of thought in the presentation. Doing this has the effect of blocking out "the masses" and giving me a feeling of having a one-on-one conversation with several specific people in the audience.

I've also found that the larger the audience, the more concise and on-topic I need to be to maintain their attention.

It ain't easy....

[LiberalNation]

I don't mind public speaking as long as it's something I can rehearse beforehand. Impromptu public speaking is a bit harder for me.

[nevadamedic]

I'm fine with public speaking, although that ease came from experience of HAVING to do such public speaking. I can handle personal appearances fairly well now, especially when the audience is engaged. What I still have trouble with is watching or hearing a recording of my performances. I'm still my own worst critic it seems.

You'll get the hang of though, I'm sure. Like everything, the more you do it, the better you get, and the more at ease you become.

What performances?

[nevadamedic]

I have a very hard time with public speaking, as im really shy in person :-( I have to get over it as I plan on running for the Nevada Assembly in the near future.

[CockySOB]

What performances?

Anything and everything. I've done vocals, instrumentals and drama back in school, and I've done courses, seminars, workshops and the like in my professional career. I just hate hearing my voice being played back to me. We all get used to hearing our voice in our inner ear, and some of us take a lot longer adjusting/accepting the difference.

[avatar4321]

Used to, but ive done it so much that i really enjoy it now. Course there are still times i get nervous. but all and all its pretty fun being the center of attention.

[Said1]

I had to address a large group of educators on Tuesday morning. Scared the beejeebers out of me. I am OK with one-on-one and small groups. But large groups make me exceptionally nervous.

Aww, look at Gabby showing her vulnerable side. Are you reaching out to us? :laugh2:

Personally, it depends on the topic and the group. On a whole I prefer speaking to smaller groups than individuals, unless I know them well, or it's superficial gib-jab.

[diuretic]

It used to scare the whatsit out of me but I've been (among other things) an adult educator for the past twenty years or so and I'm fine with it. I still get a little bit nervous before a session even with a small group (about twenty people is a small group for me). I get nervous with big groups - my largest audience (not a training situation but something else) was about a thousand or so people. But the huge groups become so amorphous that I find myself just speaking at them rather than to them as I do in a smaller group.

The main thing is practice. Take every opportunity to get on your feet and speak, even if it's just to three or four people. You eventually feel comfortable with doing it. The other thing is preparation. You can never do enough prep - it's always best to overdo it rather than underdo it. If you can work without notes even better, knowing your material is very important and it helps when someone from the audience throws you a curveball question. And on that, if you don't know or you're not sure about something, then say so, an audience will forigve that - especially if you find the answer later - but they won't forgive bluff.