Real public speaking, not small talk, is something I find difficult. It could be tied into me primarily typing more about serious discussion issues then discussing it in public and especially having to discuss such issues to older, informed peers who have a potentially important stake in my future based on the impression I make upon them.
If I had to analogize the feeling I have to "ad-libbing" say something the equivalent to an interview or a public speech on my academic opinion on a current matter then it would feel like sky fall, James Bond reference intended. For this very matter, I tend to be generally skeptic of sound bites: short pieces of audio (ie clips) with respect to their presentation in sensationalism journalism as a tool to mock, slander, or as evidence of a conspiracy.
I'm curious if other people on the site have similar problems with public speaking and how they "gear-up" and if there is a kind of retooling to thinking when it comes to ad-lib speaking or speaking in general aside from preparation, cue-cards, rehearsal, and rote methods of public speaking memorization.
To put this into context, I've been considering joining toast masters for awhile, but instead of going through those pains I tried to deliver an extemporaneous speech on some issues I have with current education. The sub-conscious lip-smacking and the chorus reverberations of "umms" just came across as some of the more obvious speech anxieties I have even when I don't have a visual audience to potentially intimidate me.
The clip can be listened to here: http://vocaroo.com/i/s0OWI9YPd7F6
I actually did have a professor give me a video of me doing a public speaking session. To put it simply, I had my left hand subconsciously on my neck making it look like I was choking myself in the middle of the presentation. I had absolutely no idea I wanted to kill myself that badly. The speech was also rehearsed for an hour and a half before delivery.
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