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All eyes are on sophomore Samantha Schaefgen as she sums up her confidence to speak in front of her speech class. Public speaking may be unbearable for some, but is mandatory for most students.

Public speaking horrifies some, a breeze for others

By: Victoria Vlisides

Posted: 3/19/08

Some students have experienced horror stories during public speaking, while others are as cool as this never-ending winter during a speech. Meanwhile the reality is public speaking is important to the future of any college student.

Junior Lindsay Fischer has witnessed massacres in her speech classes. She said one girl started giving a speech about her divorced parents and then hysterically cried for the rest of class to the point where she was hyperventilating. Another time, a student was so nervous she got sick in the middle of her speech which made one person faint and another get sick too.

Human Communication 110 Lecturer Tammy French has been employed at UW-Whitewater for two years, but has seen 15 years worth of student speeches.

Students have run out of her classroom crying mid-speech. She's even heard of students following the myth of taking shot of alcohol to calm down before a speech.

Freshman Amelia Tobias is a current Speech 101 student. Her first speech experience was the kind most students fear.

She was ready for speech class early so she took a short nap. She woke up late and had to sprint to class. When she arrived, she had messy makeup and hair and sweat dripped down her face.

"I had to give a speech on makeup and covering up the fact that you just woke up," Tobias said. "How ironic."

Tobias thought of herself as fearless in self expression but found uncertainty in speaking in front of classmates.

"It's kind of strange," Tobias said. "I shove needles through my face, mark up my body and dye my hair, and I'm not afraid of being judged. Yet when it comes to actually speaking in front of a class full of peers, that's where the fear sets in."

Tobias felt her nervousness during public speaking did not accurately reflect her personality because during her speech she was uptight.

"I'm an open person, and I can pretty much talk to anyone," Tobias said. "But when it comes to a huge group of people within my age group and a grade for a speech, it's much harder."

French hopes to lessen fears of public speaking and enable students to feel comfortable giving presentations in their future careers, through her lessons.

Students have found ways to overcome nervousness in other aspects of their lives and public speaking is no different, French said.

Though Tobias does not favor publicly speaking before her peers, sophomore Mary Cooley doesn't object to it.

Cooley was indifferent toward public speaking.

"I don't dread it, but I don't love it either," she said. "It's just something you have to do. It's harder when it's all people you know. It'd be easier if you'd never have to see them again."

Because of activities like poms performances and having to do presentations in high school, Cooley said she's used to "being on the spot."

Cooley said the outline French gives for the speeches helps to reduce nervousness.

French uses a very specific structure in her class to try to target speech apprehension. Her teaching approach aims to desensitize students to the natural fear of public speaking.

"My goal in the class is not to make people like public speaking but to get students to be confident," French said.

Four suggestions to remain clam during a speech are to be prepared, practice, breathe and move, she said.

French wanted to remind students public speaking isn't just limited to speech class.

"No matter what your major, most of the time you have classes where you have to give presentations," she said.

Sophomore Meredith Jackson, a confident public speaker, claimed the key to giving a good speech is practice coupled with experience.

Although Jackson is confident in her public speaking, she still sympathizes with students like Tobias.

"You can tell when people are nervous," she said. "You're just like, come on, you can do it."

For French, seeing students greatly improve through the semester is the most rewarding part of teaching speech.