It is an old saw that people fear public speaking more than they fear death. This fear creates a variety of nervous reactions in both young and old speakers (muttering, shifting weight, “um,” leaning on the podium) that is nearly as individual as fingerprints. Therefore, part of my approach at the beginning of each semester is to do all I can to set my speech students at ease. I then help them discover their distracting idiosyncrasies, and we work on eliminating them from their presentations. As students first become aware of their subconscious habits, most bring them under control. However, as the semester progresses, I often notice the poor habits returning. So, I looked for an activity that would bring what we had worked on back in focus without having to go back to the beginning.
Although the activity described here was done to help students become aware of strengths and weakness while giving speeches, it could easily be adapted to helping students identify strengths and weaknesses in other realms of their academic lives. For example, educators could have students focus on their strengths and weaknesses in writing, in doing mathematics, in speaking a foreign language, in taking tests, or (more generally) in being a successful student.
How do you deal with it?
- Recognize and accept your weaknesses. You can't turn a weakness into a strength if you're busy denying the weakness exists. ...
- Get guidance from someone you trust. ...
- Be very prepared. ...
- Hire the skills you lack. ...
- Get just good enough. ...
- Look for ways to serve others with the same problem.
