This week, for example, we gave speeches in our LA101H class. I had practiced. I was well-versed. I knew what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. But that wasn't enough. Despite the numerous times I had practiced and the hours I had put into the assignment, when I got up to speak finally in front of the class I knew what was going to happen and you bet your bottom dollar that it did. Shaking hands. This isn't something that I am unfamiliar with. It happens almost every time I do some type of public speaking and it drives me insane! I can be so confident in my work and feel that I have it down perfect but no matter what the hands will still start to shake. Then I feel it, I look down once. Oh no. The shaking hands is visible. Suddenly my mind starts running while I talk. It is all I can concentrate on. My thoughts run through a few things... Is it all the audience can concentrate on? Do I look nervous? Pull it together Kirk! Stop thinking about it.
It takes me a few minutes, but eventually the nerves calm down and with that, my hands stop looking like the hands of someone with Parkinson's, shaking uncontrollably, and I become confident in what I have to say once again. But that takes a huge toll on my speech. Those two minutes of my minor anxiety attack really throw off the entire speech.
So how do I fix this? In my recent years, I have tried to memorize all my outlines and be well practiced enough in the speech that I do not need to hold any notecards with an outline on them at all. This way, if my hands start to get the shakes and the trembling begins, it is at least a little less visible than when my hands are holding pieces of paper. Sometimes that is hard to do though, especially if you only have one or two nights to get to practice the speech.
I can't come up with any other ideas... do you guys have any neat tricks to help calm the nerves before public speaking? If not, I guess I will just have to survive through life as the shaky hand girl when I get in front of an audience. Oh well.
-Kirk
Kirk, I think this is something we all deal with, in a way. Wether it be shaky hands, a shaky voice, or no eye contact, we all have something to work on. I didn't notice, honestly, so just tell yourself that we probably can't tell, and you will be fine. You did great!
ReplyDeleteI love them meme! Its awesome, and I have the same problem. My hands seem to shake uncontrollably, but don't worry I didn't notice yours at all so I'm sure it just stood out more to you.
ReplyDeleteI, too, love the meme. As others have said, your hands are mostly noticeable to you -- not to others. With experience, these nerves will lessen and you'll continue to gain mastery over your nervous tendencies. (Sometimes it just takes a lot of experience, but trust me, every experience helps to progress you forward.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thoughtful and honest post.