Monday, August 18, 2008

Red all over

Public Speaking is not my favorite thing. I know I am in good company. Much to my chagrin, I need to speak in front of groups of people several times of year due to my (former) job and my being a missionary candidate. So today and tomorrow are my lucky public speaking days, and it has been interesting already. I taught with another young lady from the school district today and I experienced the dreaded "free floating anxiety" that sometimes hits me even when I don't feel all that nervous.

I turn beet red, start to sweat, need to clear my throat and generally feel like I'm gonna die. Not my favorite. So this happened when I presented my first chapter of the text today, but after a short break between my first and second chapter my anxiety response was almost gone. Even if I try to calm down and don't feel super nervous, I can't break the cycle of anxiety while its happening. But give me a few minutes where the focus is off me, and I can usually pull it together and act like a normal person once again. Why is that? Does anyone else experience this?

2 comments:

Tami said...

So I don't get like that with public speaking so much (teaching really helped me get more comfortable in that arena, though!) but I definitely get crazy nervous if I sing in front of people. Like, I can sit in the car, alone or no, and belt out any song on the radio with no shame... but put me on stage, either alone or with others but singing a solo, and I quake and shake like no tomorrow. Even when it's a room full of people who have told me that they love my singing voice... I seriously can't stop my diaphragm from constant shaking, which makes my voice all shaky in turn. So, needless to say, you're totally not alone ;)

Chava (the "C" is silent) said...

I hate public speaking. I turn beet red as well, I also start to talk really fast and get really hot feeling.

Chava
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