How many of you were terrified as kids in school when you had to do a presentation, or speech in front of the class? How many are still like that today? My 6 yr old had to do one today. He was actually crying a bit yesterday while we were practicing and he was messing up. I asked why he was crying and he said because he is scared to do it and they will laugh if he messes up. He left today so scared that he had to do it today. I was like that as a kid though. When the teacher mentioned speeches were coming I was nervous wreck.
i liked to do such things. if we had to work in a group and present something i was always the one upfront talking... edit: but i made sure i didn't just know the facts but that i understood them, thus i could talk freely about the subject and didn't need to read of the paper (except for numbres and other figures). hmm... i realise this is quite strange since im a introverted person... but i can't remember how i was at 6 years of age...
Total opposite of me. I would do anything behind the scenes as long as someone else would do the talking. I am still scared if I had to get up and talk to a large group of people.
I was also at that age but found that if I talked about something I knew about and enjoyed I did it better. I think I talked about my mom and where she worked or along that line.
When I was in high school, I was a bit nervous doing them -- but nothing so extreme as blowing chunks or fainting, etc. After college and law school, that nervous energy has turned into more of an adrenaline rush to keep me sharp, witty, and clever enough to perform and deliver impromptu speeches. I still get the willies though at the beginning of a major trial -- particularly given what is at stake for my client.
I was like that as a kid. But by the time I grew up, it had stopped bothering me. Since then, I've had several occasions where I addressed fairly large audiences (300 or more) and it doesn't bother me at all. The biggest key of all is just to know your subject well.
pmsl, a while i was working in my local shop when i had to make an announcement for a security guard to come to the front of the store and i started the announcement and actually said: "Please can a member of security wearing a pink dress come to the front of the store where king john is waiting for him"
oh yes i did. and you know the friends i made there (including the security gaurd) never lets me forget about it either
I was always scared up until high school. It still bothers me a little bit, but I can deal with it pretty easily. Even though I was scared, I was always a really good speaker. I'm fine when I know enough about the topic, and when I have a good idea of what I want to say. The worst for me was a few years ago when I was the best man at a wedding (probably a hundred people). I didn't have the slightest idea what I was going to say for my speech. I basically made it up during the ceremony. I was a nervous wreck until after I was done speaking, but I made everyone laugh, and I got several compliments afterwards, so I felt pretty good. So yeah, if I know what I'm planning on saying, I'm not too nervous, but if I don't, then I still do get pretty nervous.
Just tell him to mess up on purpose, then when the kids start laughing he should laugh louder and piss on the floor.
I enjoy public speaking, I usually prefer impromptu, gets you going. My toughest problem was having to interest the audience in topics they'd heard a thousand times... I usually just holler to get the message through. But now, with the aid of video clips, It's so much easier to interest people. Your kid should remember that they're probably just as nervous.. and franky, not to care what they think, they have to listen to him regardless.
heh. i remember it well. it was 1972 and i gave a presentation on fiber optics in high school. i was a nervous wreck, my voice broke. i was visibly shaking. i don't think i would make a good public speaker.
I told him that..... Btw: when I picked him up yesterday the Teacher made a point of telling me he did a great presentation Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! He had to pretend to be a Community Helper....I am sure it helped he looked cute as hell in his Fireman's Costume Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
You sound like me. One yr can't remember which one, I got up there and said a few lines and blanked out. Meanwhile at home I knew it like the back of my hand. I ended up reading basically the whole thing right from the cue cards lol.
