A Matter of Voice by Samantha

A Matter of Voice by Samantha - January 2023 Scholarship Essay

You are standing before a crowded room, gawking eyes anticipating your every move. Your hands begin to tremble and your legs feel as if they have become melted gelatin. You are on stage, delivering the speech you had been anxiously dreading. Public speaking is a task everyone struggles with, whether they face anxiety or not. Unfortunately, everyone will have to deliver a speech at some point in their life—for a crowded business meeting or just talking to a small group of people. Speech is everywhere, and it is more necessary than realized. Public speaking is an elective that I believe should be a required class.

I deal with all sorts of anxieties, and used to despise public speaking. However, I began to understand its use when I took the elective class for myself in my first semester of senior year. My first speech in that class had been a struggling disaster. My voice trembled around every syllable I tried to squeeze out. My hands shook the paper I read off of, blurring words and sentence structures. I felt as if I was going to pass out in front of my classmates. That was certainly not a decent first impression. When I stood up there, I wished so greatly that I could melt into the floor and never be seen again. While I wished that, it never happened. Throughout the semester, I had to continue giving speeches in front of my peers. It was terrifying, each and every time.

However, as I progressed, my speeches got better and therefore so did my attitude about public speaking. I was slowly conquering that troublesome fear of speaking in public. I began to maintain a calm, yet powerful, tone and inflection for my voice—no longer trembling or stuttering. When it came time to deliver my final speech—among the largest crowd, a room full of peers and parents—I wasn’t afraid. I spoke about pure joy and its eternal lasting. I spoke about feeling joy in the midst of trials and struggles. In the end, I delivered my best and most confident speech. I had parents approach me, complimenting me on what an incredible job I had done in my deliverance. It was powerful and full of pure joy. My own peers congratulated me, and told me how genuine and great my speech had been. I was overwhelmed with a sense of confidence and peace. It was a feeling I will remember throughout the entirety of my life.

The words I was sharing, the words I had rehearsed, meant something. My voice mattered, and that is what a class for public speaking taught me. Yes, public speaking is terrifying and something dreaded by everyone, but it is a fear we can overcome together. Public speaking helped me overcome many of my anxieties, and I have no doubt that it will help others like me in the same ways. Your voice matters. With that, I believe public speaking should be a required class.