One thing that I, and most likely those reading this, have struggled with for most of my life is public speaking, especially in front of my classmates. This issue began to affect me significantly around elementary school, but it increased in intensity in middle school. During your most formative years, it becomes evident that kids are prone to making callous remarks, especially during class presentations. Even if they don’t outright voice their negative comments, there’s still an implicit sense that they are judging you internally, which doesn’t help a 13-year-old’s self-esteem at all.Â
As time has gone by, I’ve learned not to put too much emphasis on how I’m perceived during a presentation but to instead focus on how well I’ve researched my topic and how prepared I am to present it. Sure, a lot of it has to do with self-confidence and being able to laugh at yourself when you mess up, but I think an important thing to remember is to separate yourself from the topic you’re presenting, as that’s what people are paying attention to anyway. It also helps to not care about what others think about you, but if you’re not the kind of person who naturally just shrugs it off, it can be hard to adopt that kind of mindset. As I’ve become more secure in my identity and being, I haven’t cared as much about other people’s opinions of me when I have to give a speech in a public setting. Shifting your perspective from a negative outlook on public speaking to a more positive one can boost your attitude regarding the experience and improve your speaking performance.Â
Now that I am in college, I can definitely say that if you are not someone who likes public speaking or working on communication skills, college might come as a shock to you. Not only are you going to be speaking more in your classes, but chances are, you’re most likely going to take a mandatory communications class at some point down the road. For me, this class transformed how I approached public speaking because it showed me the importance of working on my presentation skills before concentrating on presenting to a class. Even though I was really hesitant about taking this class and even questioned the entire concept of requiring it as part of your degree, I later realized that it was probably one of the most valuable classes one could ever take. Not only has it made me a more confident and engaging speaker, but it has also taught me that if you over-prepare and go above and beyond on your research, you will not only deliver a much better presentation, but you’ll also sound a lot more captivating and authentic to your audience.Â
As the school year winds down and I am now halfway done with my time here at TCU, one thing that has really stood out to me is how much I’ve developed my communication skills in the classroom. This was always something I would shy away from, a skill left for the more outgoing and quick-witted students who didn’t care about how they were perceived and just went for it. Today, I look back on those doubtful thoughts I had, and although I might still resonate in some ways with those reservations, I have greatly worked on myself to the point where I am now participating in most of my classes and even doing presentations with more ease than before. Besides participating in a classroom, this skill has translated to me being more gregarious and comfortable with my peers, some of my teachers, and even my co-workers.Â
Although I’m not overly adept at this skill quite yet, my experience with taking a communications class and other life encounters have helped improve my self-confidence and presentation skills greatly, something that I’d also tip my hat to college for because of all of the interactions I’ve had that forced me out of my shell and helped me to evolve. I think that becoming a more sociable person is something that can truly allow you to get more opportunities, form new relationships, and even just hear other people’s stories because you took an interest in their lives. Even just starting a conversation with your Uber driver or with a stranger you met on a guided hiking tour can be a great way to practice this skill. This will considerably improve your confidence skills, which will, in turn, strengthen your communication abilities, as speaking publicly is reliant on how confidently you carry yourself. My last piece of advice to anyone who wants to improve their public speaking and communication skills is to always work on becoming a more sociable person; good communication is not only a crucial skill in the workplace and classroom, but it’s also an extremely valuable asset to your relationships in life overall, which is something that should never be overlooked.Â