But I digress.
So as I said, public speaking. Now I signed up for this class, not just because I heard that it was an easy "A," but more because I regret not taking it in high school, and feel that it's a very important skill to have. Naturally, always wanting to build my ego as each day passes, I join this class.
The teacher is-- for lack of a better word-- a chiller. He understands the annoying stuff about this school and truly empathizes with us, since he went here for hsi undergrad too. He told us at the beginning of the year, that hopefully we will be able to find out what our biggest fears are, and who we really are as people. Always feeling a constant hesitance about who I really am, I was excited at this prospect.
A few weeks ago, we were given an assignment to give a speech to inform. The speech had to be interesting, relevant to the audience, and more importantly, presented well. Over the last few years, I've started feeling less embarrassed about things that I do, which is sometimes good, often times bad. I was happy to give a speech; I enjoy public speaking, if it's about a topic I enjoy and the group is small enough. Luckily, I just finished reading a book about detecting body language in others. A highly-interesting read. I decide to share some of the tidbits from the book to the class in my speech.
It took me a while to actually sit down and write out what I wanted to say, but I was able to do it.
I knew what my selling point would be: Find out when girls like you. Women, who apparently are much more attuned to reading body language than guys, drop several nonverbal signals before making things more obvious with verbal ones. If the guy is too slow, she might figure he's not worth it. Also, guys desperately see a pretty girl somewhere, and think maybe they have a shot. They engage her in conversation, not noticing, the several uninterested looks she gives (fake smiles, crossed arms, etc.). So my point to the gentlemen in my class was: Wouldn't you like to know how to read some of these signals?
When I gave my speech, which I had practiced about 5 or 6 times (the teacher recommended 8), I felt confident I knew what I wanted to say. I made eye contact with people, rarely reading directly from my sheet, and most importantly, I got people interested. My teacher gave me an "A" on the speech, which I was thrilled about. Also, not only did my classmates and teacher tell me I did a great job, but I felt like a did a great job on it, too. I've also signed on to do a stand-up comedy routine at an event for charity on Sunday. Hoepfully, things will go well.
Now...
If only YU had a speech major?
Eli
