Facing Fears: Public Speaking by Jessica

Facing Fears: Public Speaking by Jessica - July 2014 Scholarship Essay

Glossophobia: The fear of public speaking. I have never been officially diagnosed, but have countless, embarrassing, examples of glossophobic episodes that I could share with you. When asked to stand up in front of a room full of people and speak, even something as simple as an introduction, my heart races, my palms sweat and my mouth goes dry. Saying my name with a dry mouth is difficult, never mind whatever words need to come next. In fact, another side effect of my glossophobia is that I tend to ramble and immediately after I am finished speaking, I have no recollection of what I said.

As a child, I dreamed of being a college professor. My fear of public speaking was an obvious deterrent for my aspirations of professor. If I couldn’t stand up in a college classroom and give a speech as a student without trembling, how could I ever be a successful instructor?

I gave up my dreams of being a college professor and pursued another career path in life; one that wouldn’t require regular appearances in front of a crowd. I am currently working on my master’s degree in nursing and would love to educate future nurses someday. I have found that to really be successful in many aspects of life, being able to stand up in front of a group and share your ideas is vital.

The teacher who has most positively affected my attitude toward education may sound a little strange, especially given that I was never a student in this her classes.

Barbara Corcoran is a successful real estate broker. She is also an investor / personality on the ABC television show Shark Tank. After reading an article about how Ms. Corcoran had a serious fear of public speaking and how she overcame it, I began to rethink my earlier attitude about education and teaching. Like Ms. Corcoran, I believe the best way to deal with fear, is to face it. She began teaching an evening real estate course at NYU to get over her fear and her public speaking skills drastically improved.

I am anxious to follow her wonderful example of facing a fear and upon completion of graduate school, I hope to become certified as a nurse educator and finally pursue one of my childhood dreams – teaching.