fuck

Can manage as a B student easily. Can not for the life of me think or speak in front of entire class.. but is massively required by nearly all my classes. It's a hinder and I've been working on it for years.. but still, nothing comes up. I am marred by this and drop down to a C or C- just because I can't say a few sentences every discussion. Really.. crap.

12 Comments

Post a Comment

I had a friend...

Nov 20, 2019 at 11:30am

... who was like this, and by discussing it with a physician, she got a beta blocker and after a few times using that, she was able to speak in front of people, or so she said.

Or just go to your school health service, get diagnosed with an anixety disorder and get out of speaking in class, you just need a note from a doctor.

Betty be yourself

Nov 21, 2019 at 12:54am

I wonder if you are truly interested in or passionate about what you are studying or if you are following or studying something to perhaps please your family or some idea of what you must study rather than what you are genuinely interested in. Honestly the world needs all kinds of people with all kinds of talents and abilities. Do not worry about speaking aloud as sometimes being able to listen and take time to hear people is much more important. You are perfectly fine being who you are and you will find your way in the world. Grades are not the be-all and end all of anything. Passion and perseverance will get you further. There are also all kinds of learning styles and a good teacher understands this.

7 14Rating: -7

How about reading it out?

Nov 21, 2019 at 10:46am

I was the same way when I started at University. I almost passed out once, couldn't speak, just froze and had to stop. Then I learned to read out loud really well without looking down a lot. So I'd type out the entire talk in my own voice, large print, and that worked for me.
Over time, if and when a specific topic became really, really familiar, it was easier to move away from the print. You have to know your material inside out before that will happen though.

I often feel...

Nov 21, 2019 at 5:21pm

...the same way. But, you’d never know it. You’d see me up there wondering how I do it. And the only answer is practice. Face your fears, create speaking notes, and give it a go. It gets better. And don’t be afraid of saying you’re nervous. Almost everyone is.

14 9Rating: +5

Life Skill

Nov 21, 2019 at 8:51pm

I’m not sure how old you are. But once, I was like you, too paralyzed to speak up in group discussions. Fast forward 25 years later and I’ve leaned this: Speaking up will serve many roles in your future life.
- in your working life, you will need to prove yourself all the time. If you don’t say much, and just do as your told, you will be perceived as a pushover and low status. Employers want critical thinkers and the quickest day to demonstrate that is to vocalize your thoughts.
- people will take advantage of your silence. Bullies, predators, strangers, coworkers will capitalize on your lack of voice.
- you may need to defend your friends, children, family or even strangers in awkward situations. Ever seen a stranger in a bad situation with no one willing to help? Sometimes just speaking up and helping out ends the bad situation right there.

So I know it’s hard when you’re young and petrified of speaking up. But getting a C- instead of a B from your silence is NOTHING compared to what you will encounter later in life from saying nothing. Start small, focus on the conversation flow and not yourself. You will be fine.

10 5Rating: +5

Hey

Nov 21, 2019 at 9:24pm

It sounds like you have public speaking anxiety, but so do most people! Didn’t someone to a survey in the US and it turned out that people feel more anxious about public speaking than dying? What you’re describing is pretty normal except for you it’s up a notch.

Figure out what you’re so afraid of - is it people laughing at you? Is it you mumbling your words and people not understanding what you’re saying at all? Is it your mind going blank? Really define your fear and then embrace the fact that even if it happened you would still be just fine. Life would go on. You would still be a worthwhile person.

And breathe, and practice. You got this.

9 4Rating: +5

It doesn't always get better

Nov 22, 2019 at 12:30am

I have the same thing! I get major introvert brain and my mind just goes blank, even though I know my shit inside out and have insightful things to say. I couldn't remember a haiku once and it was the most embarrassing thing! Even reading in front of a crowd I get that quavering nervous voice. I somehow got through university and am successful despite it, so just hang in there! Consider asking your teachers if you can submit written insights of if they have any public speaking tips to just bring it to their attention, if you're really worried about it affecting your grades? Or just be awesome at everything else to balance it out. It's not an anxiety issue for some of us, it's a personality trait that public school systems routinely make us rail against. Why don't they make more kids be quiet, instead of making the quiet ones be unnecessarily louder? But that's a whole other issue...

9 5Rating: +4

The Catherine Wheel

Nov 22, 2019 at 4:35am

Seems civil next to public speaking. Do what I do: practice with finger puppets

6 8Rating: -2

Now I've heard

Nov 22, 2019 at 1:30pm

If you imagine the people your speaking in front of are naked. Regular people just sitting around, hanging out all naked in the audience.
Its suppost to relieve the anxiety of public speaking.
Not sure if it works but it would make you chuckle for sure.
Good Luck
Just force yourself to get up there and speak Clearly, Loud and Proud.
You got this One in the bag :)

4 5Rating: -1

Ummm

Nov 22, 2019 at 7:14pm

You know that weird thing trump was doing with the sharpie and the no quid pro quo? That’s called talking points and it’s a really good idea. Don’t write out a speech to recite or read just sketch out your main points.

9 3Rating: +6

Join the Discussion

What's your name?