Join Martin: Public Speaking

image copyright Fresno County Office of Education 2008

JOIN MARTIN IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THIS GROUP/ORGANISATION

Public Speaking: There was a time when I loved giving presentations and speaking in public. To be fair, that was during my university days. Somehow, I got the idea that volunteering for presentations would make me look strong and confident and impress the girls in my seminar groups. It probably just made me look like a teacher's pet or a swot but, most of the time, the presentations went really well and, on the odd occasion, the girls in the seminar group were impressed but, last time I asked, the ability to give good presentations is not high on the list of any woman when it comes to seeking out future husbands. Oh well, it was worth a try.

As I've said before on this blog, the ability to be cool, calm and confident whilst speaking in public is very important. There is no point learning a new language if you don't have to courage to speak it. Being confident is hard work. We're all born confident and we cry out expecting to be fed...demanding to be fed and cared for. But somewhere along the way we begin to take onboard ideas about ourselves and, sometimes, those ideas are just plain nonsense. But we believe them anyway. We cling to them, hold them tight and refuse to let go. We absorb those false perceptions and make them part of us and deconstruction of those negative beliefs, even by trained professionals or friends desperate to help, can be disorientating and we fight against anything which threatens our belief system. Stop for a moment and imagine that everything you know about yourself is false. You've been living a lie. You're not who you thought you were. Frightening thought, isn't it? Feels much better to stop thinking like that and carry on as normal. That's why we find it so hard to make positive changes and to be confident in this world: we'd rather believe nonsense than have nothing to base our identity on.

I'm no expert on confidence or public speaking. I recently gave a good talk on journalism to a class of primary school children. I was very nervous and looked it and, as much as I enjoyed talking about my career and passion, I was glad when it was over. Despite the fact that some people think my "little black book" comes in volumes, I've never been amazing in social situations. I'm not a wallflower and, just occasionally, my dance routine of wiggling my arms about a bit and swaying from side to side no matter what song is playing and no matter what the rhythm is, makes an appearance. That said, I've improved a lot over the years and I think there is something to be said for being comfortable with your own company once in a while. But, if I am going to make a success of this languages challenge, I'm going to have to broaden my social circle and become more comfortable talking to people and speaking in public.

In the coming days, I'll be talking about public speaking. Which, if you think about is, is an odd turn of phrase. I'll basically be talking about talking. Hard to believe I once sang a solo in an amateur musical production and have acted on the professional stage, isn't it? Also been on TV in the UK. If you want to achieve something, you can. Whether it's learning a new language or gaining the confidence to be a great public speaker. Just go for it.