Taming The Public Speaking Beast

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

All eyes are on you. There must be hundreds of them, all waiting for you to say something. When you open your mouth, a waterfall of words, nerves, and doubt will pour out; they will see everything you tried practicing out of your speech. The awkward breaths, the stutter on “surely”, and the way your throat contracts when you feel like everyone has formed opinions- hundreds of them. All attention is yours, and the speech comes cascading out when you begin to speak. Nothing registers, no words, no sounds, no reactions- just the thought in your mind, repeating itself again and again. Can you really do this?

And it’s over.

They’re quiet at first, wondering how to take your speech. Eventually, they realize you’re finished, and begin to clap.

You walk away nervously, shaking and sweating, and sit down in the front row. You’re thanked by the coordinator who calls the next person up. The people around you tell you how good your speech was, but your mind continues its mantra.

Could you really do that?

Public speaking is hard for anyone, no matter what age they are, or how much experience they have. Some people are good at it, while other people, like me, would rather crawl into metaphorical shell and not come out for another few months. So, why I chose to run for student council is beyond me, my friends, and anyone who watched me torture myself through it.

Well, okay. It wasn’t that bad. I’d go into detail about what it was like, but it’s a very independent process. So instead, here’s a quick, 6 step list to running for student council/class office.

1. Get 20 student signatures and 3 teacher signatures.

2. Write a half-page long speech and hand it in by the due date.

3. Fill out the contact information sheet and sign any other forms.

4. Show up to the assembly.

5. Say your speech.

6. That’s it. You’re either in it or you’re not. It’s really quite simple.

The hardest part is convincing yourself that you can go up and say a poorly written speech to hundreds of judgmental teenagers that you know probably half of, while hoping they’ll put a check next to your name on the ballot.

So, for anyone reading this who isn’t in student council or class office, I greatly urge you to try out one of these years. It’s not as scary as you think.

While I’m not very involved with class office, I believe that the class of 2020 has a very good one. Though students have expressed their concerns over the genuineness and seriousness we have for our positions, I can only say that we haven't yet shown all of our love for change and a better community. That said, the class of 2020 has elected a student council who will fight for acceptance and school spirit alike. Furthermore, we want to eliminate discrimination, create time to study and relax, and help kids enjoy being at school. With this, I have the confidence to be both excited and anxious about the future that’s racing toward each and every one of us.