The Nightmare of Public Speaking

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To say public speaking used to be my nightmare is a severe understatement. If there was one person in the room who absolutely hated public speaking, it was always me. I never understood why I despised it so much. Maybe it was the potential embarrassment, or my shaking legs, but something about it just made me terrified. 

Luckily, I can say that I don't feel quite as strongly about it as I once did. Last fall, actually, I had to take a whole fashion class dedicated to public speaking (shout-out to Katie Summers). Being able to stand in front of my peers and give a successful 15 minute presentation by the end of the semester was something that I could have never imagined for myself. I began to learn that public speaking is NOT supposed to be scary, but a useful skill that will help me in so many aspects of life. 

For all of my natural-born worriers out there, here are three of the best things I have learned thus far:

1. Be as organized as possible- it helps more than one would think. "Winging it" doesn't work so well for important presentations.

2. Dress up! I'm no scientist, but my philosophy is that the better you look, the better you feel.

3. Talk about something you're passionate about. Your audience will be able to tell whether or not you have an interest in your topic, so choose something that you can really get into and enjoy. 

Here's to another year of (hopefully) continuing these practices to survive the "nightmare" that is public speaking. 

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