Are you required to do alot of public speaking in college?

[Bobbi7]

I have a fear of public speaking/giving speeches in front of groups/small group discussions, etc, etc.

[amaysngrace]

Take a public speaking course to help you overcome that.

[d0nnivain]

Depending on your major, you could be required to take a public speaking course to help you over come that fear. Certain majors do require in class presentations as part of your class. This helps you prepare to give presentations in the work place. If you are that fearful join ToastMasters. It's a group whose purpose is to help you overcome your fear of public speaking. It's a skill once mastered that will help you in many aspects of your life. They will teach you the tricks to make it not so scary & stress inducing.

[SycamoreCircle]

That's a tough one. Not easily overcome.

 

Is there any setting where you feel comfortable telling a story? For example, can you tell a friend or co-worker a joke with ease and confidence? Does it feel like there is always too much on the line?

 

Essentially, whatever you're talking about in front of a person or a group of people needs to come from a place of joy. So, if you're talking about particle board, you need to find some way to make talking about particle board joyful for you. Maybe it's not so much the particle board itself, but the way you shape the ideas concerning the particle board.

 

With joy will come ease. With ease will come memorization and a greater ability to get away from the text and connect with the people you're talking to. Remember that you're just talking to people. Try to break down the barriers between the two of you. You're trying to excite people about the idea. Be conscious of rhythm, be conscious of impediments to the delivery of the idea. "Uh...um...and uh..." Unnecessary bodily movements.

 

Never formulate something with an intended response. People will never respond to you as you intend.

 

Be yourself.

[acrosstheuniverse]

Depends on the course. Repeated public speaking desensitizes you to doing it: in college I only had to do a couple of short five minute speeches and they terrified me (most people truthfully find it difficult). Over the years as I've done it more and more I've developed confidence in it and now do it as part of my paid job every couple of weeks to around sixty people, easily. It's a skill like anything else, don't expect to be brilliant at it the first time you give it a try.

 

But by avoiding it, you'll never overcome that fear. And depending on what you want to do with life, it may hold you back greatly if a dream job comes up that requires some public speaking and your fear prevents you from taking it.

 

So my best advice is: just do it! Keep doing it. Do it until it's normal.

[GorillaTheater]

I think it's a good thing to be willing to ask a lot of questions in college. So from that perspective you're golden.

[na49]

I used to be deathly afraid of public speaking, and would spend the entire day before a presentation freaking out about it. I still wouldn't say that I'm comfortable, but I think I'm better than I used to be. It's like a lot of other things, where the only way to get better at it is to do it.

 

Depending on what kind of public speaking you're talking about of course, it helps to have an idea of what you're going to say ahead of time. If you are nervous, you can joke about that. Everyone else who has to speak publicly is probably just as nervous as you are, or would understand how you feel. I took two public speaking classes, and now it feels a bit more routine.

[I_Squared_R]

I have been in college for a year and had to do 2 presentations .. Engineering major. One was related to engineering and the second was related to economics. The first one went perfect and I really was impressive.. The one about economics I choked on my information pretty bad. I nearly fell on a chair (yes physically almost fell down)! I thought I was terrible, but many people in the class said I was pretty good. What? It turns out nobody listens to your speech anyway!

[LuckyLady13]

I haven't had to do any public speaking in college but I've had to do a lot of public speaking at jobs to, at times, over 100 people. Like other people have said, it's something you get more comfortable with the more you do it. It starts becoming normal and natural.

 

I like I Squared R's story the most because it's a perfect example of how it can go. You imagine all sorts of things, get nervous, might even choke up but at the end of the day, nobody really remembers it so it's not a big deal.

 

I'm pretty sure everyone is nervous public speaking at first. I remember a time I had to explain something to large groups of people all day long and the first day I was petrified! Before long, it actually got boring!

 

After the first few times, it's not bad at all. I promise!

[KayleBea]

I did a Graphic Design course at college and university. We did presentations twice, sometimes three times, a week! That went on for four years. I hated public speaking too but it got easier as time went on and I got used to it. I found that I did better when I didn't rehearse my lines too much. I would just make 'bullet points' on what to speak about. I would also try to go first because it was a nice feeling to get it over and done with. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea and wanted to go first.

Edited June 28, 2015 by KayleBea

[HowMightI-live]

I feel yah. Im taking a public speaking course in the fall and i can't say im particularly thrilled by it. But, it's the only way overcome my fear of public speaker and practice makes perfect. Last semester i had two presentations from two classes at the end of the semester. It was tough and my hands were shaking the whole time but i feel a little less nervous about presentations having experienced and gotten it over with. So i guess it gets easier with time? Hopefully.....fingers crossed, lol.

 

 

Just realised i didn't answer your question. So, i think it depends on a lot of things but i wouldn't be surprised if a professor assigned group or individual class presentations. Like i said, i.had two in one semester.

Edited July 4, 2015 by HowMightI-live