Emerly Lee – Week 15: Redeeming Disasters
There is nothing more anxiety inducing, nerve wrecking, and heart shattering than a presentation for school. Going up and having to repeat your script that you had spent hours drilling into your memory only for it to get lost in the abyss as you stand in front of a crowd. To this day before presentations many of my friends recount countless nightmares of embarrassing themselves in front of a crowd. However, as the years go by this feeling becomes more and more foreign to me as I break from my shell, yet my younger self is very familiar with this feeling.
It feels like just yesterday, where the young naive freshman me walked into James Logan Highschool to attend my very first debate competition. My partner and I had spent hours preparing for this competition, whilst not knowing what to expect. As we walked into the room we were greeted by a pair of opponents and a judge, who compared to me all felt very composed. As I headed up to the podium to give my first speech, I felt myself stuttering, my legs quaking, as though I were about to collapse, and I could feel myself losing confidence as I looked up to the confused judge. The trauma didn’t end there as I proceeded onto a heated crossfire with my opponent (a portion of debate where opponents exchange question to poke holes in one another’s cases), I single handedly in that moment had been placed on a chopping block, deep fried, then swallowed whole by my opponents. Not even 20 minutes into the round and it was clear as day that I had lost.Yet, what would have become of me if I had just let that one moment come crashing down on me.
This experience opened the door to changing my mindset. I couldn’t be continuously stuck in a cycle of complete fear if I wanted to do something with my debate career. It was there that I developed a couple techniques that I teach my friends when they are feeling anxious about public speaking and that is…
No one will remember this moment in ten years. That’s why no matter what embarrassing moment that happens, whether its stuttering or mispeaking, no one will ever remember it so don’t dwell on it either
If you know what you are talking about then there is no reason to fear messing up. This is because even if you mess up your lines, no one knows more than you what your topic is about so work your way around it.
For the most part, many of these tips have worked for me and have driven me far into my debate career. Matter of fact this year after two years I attended the same debate competition and made it to eliminations in varsity.
Hi Emerly! I think your journey of underconfidence into realizing that it is never that deep is something that I myself have experienced as I grew up as well. Being a public forum debate as well, I understand well the feeling of being caught off guard without anything to refute with as your opponents find every flaw in your argument and reasoning. However, I think that putting yourself out there is a good way to grow and learn from your own mistakes as you interact with others who may be smarter than you. I think to some extent, engaging in activities like debate or even taking AP Language are just ways to challenge yourself, make mistakes, and grow to be a better person. I think your semi formal tone with informative advice makes this blog helpful in reflecting on the process of growth and blooming as a more confident person.
ReplyDeleteHey Emerly! Thank you for including tips in your blog they are very helpful and I think I might need them for future presentations. I have never been good at public speaking either and still don't think I have improved much, but I think I might improve on it by practicing it more like you. I have never even thought of joining debate club but after reading your blog it made me curious about what it is like to debate and like it's experience. Your two options are exactly what comes to my mind when I think of presenting but sometimes my mind goes off my script, especially when something catches my eye and I start to think about it while presenting and it gives me a hard time to go back on track and figure out where I was. I think this usually happens due to the lack of practicing but your blog has inspired me to start looking for such opportunities to improve my skills such as joining a club that involves public speaking!
ReplyDeleteHi, Emerly! I really like the way you structured this blog and the way you integrated how it is you comfort your friends who are afraid to present. I relate to the techniques that you have mentioned, as whenever I am nervous, I usually remind myself that I typically don't remember when others have done or said something embarrassing, and that most people are more concerned with themselves. I also strongly agree with your second point, which is that if you understand and know your stuff, it is unlikely that you will mess up! This is similar to the mindset I had during my POAS presentation; I had thoroughly researched my person and convinced myself that even if I did slip up, I'd be able to recover since I know this topic so well. This blog was relatable and informative, great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Emerly! Your techniques are so important, as they are nearly identical to the statements I kept repeating to myself prior to my POAS presentation. Even though I participated in public speaking clubs a few years ago, I was still unable to get through the anxiety of speaking on my own, as I either spoke online in a Zoom meeting based competition (during the pandemic) or was only speaking in front of several of my close friends, which was the case when I was in a public speaking club at Thornton. I also love that you were able to not only give yourself this advice but actually apply it— which is far more difficult than simply saying that you would do something— and getting further than you have in debate competitions. Congratulations on that achievement, and I hope that you’re able to carry that skill and advice for yourself throughout the rest of your debate career!
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