Communication final paper PDF

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Final Paper

Sanchez 1

Final Paper Bianca J. Sanchez Kean University Comm*1402*13

Sanchez 2

Growing up in a loud outgoing family, you would think I would be the exact same as all of them but I wasn’t. I was outgoing when it comes to making friends and having a good time but when it comes to public speaking it’s like I became a brand new person. All middle school we did group presentations and everyone was laughing having fun with all attention on them but then it was me who was shy and nervous and always had a shaky voice. My hands would be shaky, my voice would be shaky, I would always stutter and get really red in the face and want to cry by the end of the presentation. I always wondered if it was just me being scared because I didn’t want to get judge because my powerpoint or being I knew that I would get really red or maybe because I knew I stuttered a lot. I thought it was fade away as I got older and got into high school. Throughout my high school experience public speaking has been one of the biggest concerns and fears I have had and was never able to overcome. Once I knew I had to go up in front of the room and know that all eyes will be on me, my chest became really tight and I became so red in the face. I would make my slides really short and simple without having to much information and I would rush through all my presentations. My hands felt like they were shaking and as I held the flashcards I felt as if I was crumbling them up. Reading over the notes on the flashcards was impossible because I couldn’t even focus on what I was reading. Looking at all the eyes that are on you, waiting quietly for you to finish your presentation. Seeing all those eyes made me forget what I was saying or wanted to say. Knowing that I was stuttering uncontrollably and getting more nervous to speak calmly and not shaky and anxious to finally sit down and let someone else present and act like no one noticed or remembered my powerpoint.

Sanchez 3 When it was finally over, I sped walked to my desk with my shaking hands and flaming red cheeks. I knew I already failed and looked pathetic and so I said the next time I’ll do better but when that next time comes, I do the exact same thing. Overcoming something you’ve been going through for many years isn’t an easy thing to do especially without proper help. As it was time to start college I realized I had to take a speech communication class. All that was going through my head was presentations, presentations, and even more presentations. I was terrified and actually thought about dropping the course before it started. I spoke to many people about it and asked them for their opinions and may did agree with me but I had a few people who said they believed I shouldn’t drop it and just get it over with. Those few people told me, “It shouldn’t affect you as much as it would in high school but your only going to see them for a few months.” At that moment I knew that what they were saying was completely true! I decided to not drop the course and to face my fear. The first day of that class I was so scared by the end of it because my professor broke down everything we would be covering through the semester. There was going to be two group projects which I dislike a lot and there would be two presentations alone as well. I dislike group projects just because of the fact that not everyone does their part and I have to do double the work even with my nerves on edge but it still better for me than doing a solo presentation. The first time I had to present in front of my classmates who were complete strangers to me, was one of the group projects. I knew I would be nervous and very shaky but I thought it would be better than what I am use to just because I didn’t know anyone in the classroom. I was so scared, I felt the redness coming into my face while I was speaking, I even noticed myself talking very fast because of how nervous I am. As I got my grade back, my professor even noticed that I was nervous and

Sanchez 4 speaking very fast. From that moment I knew it was something I needed to work on to make sure I didn’t fail my next presentation. As the next presentation came along, it was a solo presentation. It was an informative speech and I spoke about abortions and gave lots of information about all types of abortions. I decided to make my powerpoint early enough so I had at least a week of practice by myself and I would say it in the mirror and time myself. I tried to time myself because I knew that the presentation had to be a about six to seven minutes long. I knew that I couldn’t speed through this presentation and I had to say all my information clearly so that everyone understood me. The day of my presentation, I was scared, I honestly didn’t even want to go to class no more. I knew something was going to go wrong. I knew that I was nervous while I was presenting but I noticed I was talking a little slower then usual but I knew it was still to fast. I just couldn’t slow down more than what I was already doing. My grade came back and it wasn’t the best because I knew I could have done better but I just have to keep practicing to get the next to presentations down perfect. The third presentation I had to do for the class was the last group presentation. The presentation was based on a chapter our professor gave us from the textbook. I knew it wasn’t going to be hard at all because all the information I needed was in our textbook. It was one of the easiest powerpoints I have ever made but it all came down to the presentation part. The day of the presentation, I rehearsed my part so many times. I knew that I had retained all the information I was going to say it was just the point of how I would say it. I got up in front of the class and I realized that I didn’t have the nervous I always had. I felt like a new person up there. I did better than I have ever done before. I know I was most likely talking very fast because it is

Sanchez 5 something I got accustomed to. From that moment, knowing that I wasn’t really scared or nervous anymore I know that the only thing I needed to work on was slowing my pace down. I don’t know why all of a sudden all my nerves disappeared and I might never know but I am very happy that it did. My grade was still in the same level as it has been all semester. I knew that I only had one more presentation and it was a solo presentation to get my grade up and show myself that I can do it. My last presentation was a persuasive speech. It was a little more harder presentation for me because I didn’t know what to do the topic on nor how I would persuade my classmates into my topic. I knew I would have to pick something great so I ended up picking the topic about tv shows exploiting people. I didn’t really do much practice on this presentation because I knew that if I wanted to say certain things in a certain order I would get nervous during the presentation and I would mess up again. I felt so comfortable up in front of the class, I noticed I wasn’t speaking fast nor too slow. I was going in a good pace, I thought I did really good but i was now only worried about my grade. When I got my grade back I went up a great amount of point from my other presentations. I was so proud of myself. After the semester ended, I realized that I was nervous all these years for nothing. I believed that my presentations and the work I put in it and what I was saying wasn’t going to be good enough so I was very nervous. I think now that I realized that it was just me and my presentations weren’t bad and having the help to see what I was doing wrong made me more confident in myself. I learned to control my nerves and learned to not show it as much when I spoke. I learned to focus on what I was talking about and knew how to say it. I am so proud of myself to overcome something so big that has affected me for so long. I am glad that I didn’t

Sanchez 6 drop the course and I faced my fear. If I would have dropped the course no one would have known if I would overcome my fear or I would have passed the class and got the grades I did. I am so proud of myself and now I know that public speaking will always have a little affect over me but it will not control me. I will be able to speak in front of anyone and I will be able to take the new challenges that will come along throughout my next few years in school....