October 18th, 2009
Sometimes in life we have to do things that we don’t want to do. I don’t like public speaking, so I try to avoid it. After taking my Business 205 class over the summer, I realized that I’m not too bad of a public speaker; I just lack confidence. This is going to be a problem in the professional world, so I am starting to face my fear. Last week was Days at Mays, which is a day for high school seniors to take a tour of the business school and learn about all of the opportunities available through Texas A&M. I signed up to be a member of the student panel that talks in front of the students and their parents.
When I signed up, I was very confident. I reminded myself that all I had to do was talk to a bunch of high school students about the Mays Regents’ Scholars Organization (at the time I didn’t know they were bringing their parents). When the day finally came, I stood outside the Cocanougher Center and talked to the other students on the panel. I had that nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach as I looked through the window to see the numerous students and parents attentively listening to a speaker. It was too late to back out of my commitment and go screaming down the halls of Wehner. The speaker signaled us to enter the room. I put a nervous smile on my face and hoped for the best.
We started by giving a brief introduction about ourselves. That part was easy enough. I spoke clearly and didn’t forget my name. After the introductions, I talked about the Regents’ Organization and how I got to go to Paris. I tried to keep my part interesting and gave some good information, but not too much. When I was done with my part, my fake smile was replaced with a confident one. All I had to do was wait for everyone else to finish.
“And now we will begin the Question and Answer portion of the student panel discussion.”
My heart sank. I had completely forgotten about the Q&A portion. I’m the kind of person that likes to plan everything out, so I’m not very good when put on the spot. I crossed my fingers and hoped that I wouldn’t be asked any direct questions. We were three questions in when I was finally called out.
“What was your favorite part about Paris?”
Oh no! They asked me a question. Panic! Panic! Wait a second…that’s an easy question. I can answer that. It was at that moment that I realized all of the questions were opinion questions that I couldn’t get wrong. Next, I answered questions about my freshman year. I actually started to have fun talking about past adventures.
We are all afraid of something, but at some point you have to learn to face your fears. I have by no means conquered my fear of public speaking, but I’ve gotten better, and not a moment too soon; next week I have a marketing presentation and a PPA interview. If I can speak to a room full of parents and students, an interview with a professor shouldn’t be too bad.
