Stupid school speech, freaking out

[destxoxo]

Hey guys, haven’t had any scares in a while i’ve been taking my meds more.

Anyways… i’m nervous because i have a stupid speech in my class and it has to be 5 minutes long. The topic i picked is otters because they’re my favorite animal and i literally didn’t know what else to pick. I am scared that i will run out of things to say even tho i have a long time to plan this. Also i don’t think i have to say this because this is the social anxiety forum but i will anyways; i have extremely bad social anxiety. I don’t have any friends in school and my only two friends aren’t in this school anymore. Whenever i have to present i have a lot of anxiety but i go through with it and get it done. For this project i am going to be graded on if i speak clearly and loudly for people to hear (i usually am quiet lol) and my posture and basically everything that makes a good speech/presentation.

I am kinda doomed because of the social anxiety and the horrible fear that i will look stupid even trying to be myself a little bit. A good speech has confidence, humor and personality and when im not comfortable with someone i will not make jokes or show my personality in fear of upsetting someone or being judged. I don’t know what i’m going to do to be honest. I don’t think i can ask to present in front of just her because the whole point is making a good speech for your audience.

But again how am i supposed to talk about otters for five minutes ????


i hate myself for not being normal.

 

[PieFan]

how am i supposed to talk about otters for five minutes ????

Otters are really cool. I got lost in Minnesota close to the Canadian border a few years ago, the road just petered out into a track so I had to stop and turn around. We got out of the car and in a stream there was an otter intrigued by our sudden appearance. He wasn't a bit afraid or timid, and I'm sure I am anthropomorphizing but he seemed to enjoy our attention, it was like he was showing off!

At the zoo here we have a giant river otter weighing 50 pounds, they come from The Amazon, countries like Brazil and Peru. They are an endangered species now, due to loss of their natural habitat. They are rare in captivity too.

I grew up in England, and otters became virtually unseen there but projects to clean up the rivers have revived the otter population, even in cities!

Otters are making themselves at home in UK cities

Otters are sprainting the town red (well, black) and are being spotted in city rivers across the UK.

www.nhm.ac.uk

When I was a child I read a novel called Tarka the Otter, by Henry Williamson:



It was made into a famous film in 1979:

I remember 'the eels were devourers of the eggs of salmon and trout, and the otters were devourers of eels!'

What a great topic @destxoxo The secret to a good demonstration or talk is preparation, make a script and if allowed maybe some pictures as props. Have fun with it!

 

[MATD]

First, you prepare, that’s basically the whole point in public speaking. You speak what you know, and you can’t know unless you study your subject. Bring out the most interesting points. Practice your speech before hand, perhaps in front of your family. You cannot possibly overcome your social anxiety in the short amount of time you have before presentation so just determine to do your best, allow it to be good enough. And recognize those negative thoughts, “I am doomed”, etc, as just part of the anxiety and let them go. They are self defeating and will only cause your anxiety to grow. When you face your audience, take a moment to look at them with love, as if they are your brothers and sisters, because a lot of them are probably just as nervous as you are. You aren’t alone in this. When your speech is over, thank your audience for listening and give yourself credit for doing your best.

 

[Sloth54]

Hey guys, haven’t had any scares in a while i’ve been taking my meds more.

Anyways… i’m nervous because i have a stupid speech in my class and it has to be 5 minutes long. The topic i picked is otters because they’re my favorite animal and i literally didn’t know what else to pick. I am scared that i will run out of things to say even tho i have a long time to plan this. Also i don’t think i have to say this because this is the social anxiety forum but i will anyways; i have extremely bad social anxiety. I don’t have any friends in school and my only two friends aren’t in this school anymore. Whenever i have to present i have a lot of anxiety but i go through with it and get it done. For this project i am going to be graded on if i speak clearly and loudly for people to hear (i usually am quiet lol) and my posture and basically everything that makes a good speech/presentation.

I am kinda doomed because of the social anxiety and the horrible fear that i will look stupid even trying to be myself a little bit. A good speech has confidence, humor and personality and when im not comfortable with someone i will not make jokes or show my personality in fear of upsetting someone or being judged. I don’t know what i’m going to do to be honest. I don’t think i can ask to present in front of just her because the whole point is making a good speech for your audience.

But again how am i supposed to talk about otters for five minutes ????


i hate myself for not being normal.

You are more normal than you know! 90% or more of people have Social anxiety about giving a talk. Please don’t hate yourself. This is not your fault. I have this myself and I know how difficult it is but you can get through it. When I had to give a talk in school, my face started sweating, and I know people saw it. But this type of anxiety is very often genetic in nature. It is innate in a lot of us. Basically what I learned is that nobody really cares that we are there talking. Half the people don’t even pay attention. They’re more worried about what they’re going to do the rest of the day. Honestly, try to relax about this. I always looked at the back wall instead of the people which helped somewhat.
The main thing is be good to yourself. You are doing your best. You have to be your best friend!

 

[shay1988]

I'm sure you will do great! Have faith. I was never a social person in school I hated talking in front of the class, even tho I had plenty of friends I still suffered with bad anxiety and couldn't stand to get up in front of the class. But I realized as I got older that over half the kids in the class are nervous and not even paying attention to anything your saying, mostly just the teacher is listening. Just practice your speech as much as you can before the day comes. U can do this

 

[Phillies Phan]

You are more normal than you know! 90% or more of people have Social anxiety about giving a talk. Please don’t hate yourself. This is not your fault. I have this myself and I know how difficult it is but you can get through it. When I had to give a talk in school, my face started sweating, and I know people saw it. But this type of anxiety is very often genetic in nature. It is innate in a lot of us. Basically what I learned is that nobody really cares that we are there talking. Half the people don’t even pay attention. They’re more worried about what they’re going to do the rest of the day. Honestly, try to relax about this. I always looked at the back wall instead of the people which helped somewhat.
The main thing is be good to yourself. You are doing your best. You have to be your best friend!

Yes! I frequently say to myself that I am my own best friend.

 

[Bry]

I agree with practice practice, I’ve been there and it’s the biggest challenge. I found to NOT practice in front of a mirror!!
i also agree that not many people listen to presentations, they just pretend to- I know I do this a lot myself.
now days I have to present daily at work and have learned to only discuss the things you know or have interest in, this seems to drastically reduce or eliminate anxiety.

 

[PieFan]

I always meant to come back @destxoxo and ask if you did the talk on otters?!

I bought a book for the under 3s a few days ago, I love you like no otter...