Before and during a speech or a conference, I become extremely nervous and feel the need rush. I want to get the speech or my part of the conversation over with. When this happens, it tends to imply that I will shake my legs or stutter. If I am holding a paper while I talk, many people see that I am shaking the paper intensely. When I am nervous, I also forget my train of thought. That's why when I try to say something, I usually end up saying never mind or that I will go a little bit off topic.
My distinction from other people that also have the trait of stage fright is that many people get over with stage fright. Ever since I discovered that I have the trait of stage fright, I constantly tried to suppress that feeling. I have tried basic techniques like breathing slowly and calming down but it doesn't work because I don't think about my breathing while I talk. I even took classes involving public speaking in college last summer and I still felt the nervousness within me. Unfortunately till this day, I could not still resist that nervous feeling.
In my opinion, I believe that i become nervous because I know that there is something on the line; my grade. Usually when I normally talk to friends or teachers as a casual talk, I feel fine because there is nothing that could influence greatly on my future. On the other hand, grades can determine the future. A deflict of my grade can prevent me from attending high ranking colleges that I would like to attend.
For those that would like to respond to this post, I would like to know what techniques that you use as a student when speaking. Thanks! ^_^
