If you've ever been in such a heated argument that you get so upset you are at a loss for words, you know the frustration that follows the end of the dispute. It can be so irritating to want to scream a rebuttal against your opponent, but not have the right words or a snarky enough remark at hand. This feeling of angst and inability to formulate words when they are most needed accurately describes impromptu public speaking for me. On paper, I can exaggerate the extent of my vocabulary through a thesaurus, but if I were to make an unrehearsed speech in front of an audience, I would suddenly regress to the mental capacity of a 10 year-old. It's as though my brain stops working when I'm put on the spot.
However, because I was usually allowed to prepare for my past public speaking experiences, my brain freezes have greatly diminished over the years- at least I am capable of remembering my self-written "script." Of course, nerves can impede my performance, but I can't remember a time when I completely crashed and burned on a practiced speech. So far, I have learned two things about myself from my past speeches:
1) I cannot make eye contact to save my life.
And 2) I am surprisingly good at memorizing speeches in a short amount of time.
Eye contact. Its so simple, yet lacking it hinders the whole presentation. I have found that not only do I fail to ever make eye contact during regular speeches, but I also rarely look straight out to the audience during show performances. Its as if I think I am only allowed to talk to God; my eyes wander up to the ceiling like I'm watching an airplane fly by outside. What's weird is I consistently have no problem keeping my eyes straight while I'm practicing the speech (or lines if referring to musicals), but as soon as you put people in front of me I shut down. I've noticed that subconsciously looking up is what enables me to remember what I have to say next. The only way to really improve this bad habit is by practicing my future speeches in front of an audience and forcing myself to stare people in the eye until I'm comfortable.
In high school, I was a huge procrastinator. If I had to give a speech on Friday, I'd be writing it at 11 pm on Thursday night. However, I've noticed that I have no problem memorizing even the most specific details of my speech after only a few rehearsals. Obviously, I am aware of the extensive preparation required of a TED talk, so I will plan accordingly, but I feel that having a decent memory will vastly help me when practicing for the assignment. I have never had to give a public speech without notecards before, but knowing I've never really needed to use them when they were actually available to me helps me feel more comfortable going into this talk.
Overall, I am far from the best public speaker (and my extreme nerves are mostly accountable for that), but I can still get the job done. Because my past public speaking experiences range from a tiny powerpoint presentation in a high school classroom to a large, professional speech at graduation, I have learned what engages the audience and what loses their interest; sometimes I'm just not so great at following my own advice. While I do have a decent background in giving speeches, and have gained some tips from acting in shows, I strongly feel I can become better just by getting more experience in the practice.
