Speak Up and Be Heard

     Speaking isn't always easy. It means getting up in front of people and trying to explain your own thoughts for them to judge. The idea of doing that is scary to a lot of people, including me. There is always a chance that someone will argue or talk back or ask questions or judge you. It’s frightening to think about how people will see your ideas. Will they agree? Will they understand? What will they think? When you speak up you put yourself out there to be judged and the idea of doing that can be absolutely terrifying.

     So why do we do it? Why is speaking out and sharing your opinion valued so highly in our lives? We do it because we believe in a system. We believe that if you share your thoughts they will be heard. Even if there are questions and people telling you you're wrong somewhere there is a person who understands and you've planted a seed in their head. We believe ideas are collective. That what we think comes from what we experience, understand, and from others opinions. If you don’t share your opinion then how can you be sure others will form there’s? If nobody ever shares then people will never be able to formulate their own opinions again and we will be forever stuck in the exact way we are thinking now. Lastly, we believe in being heard. We believe that every individual’s idea has some value because every individual thinks differently. Overall there are a variety of reasons that people believe it is important to share your opinions.

     But having good reasons to share doesn't make speaking out any less frightening. Getting up in front of people and speaking terrifies me. I’m always worried I’ll mess up and say the wrong thing or that people will lose interest. So how do you conquer the fear? The truth is there are different ways to conquer the fear because there are different reasons people get scared. Maybe you think you’ll say the wrong word. If so, one thing to do is work on your confidence and practice what you want to say. The best advice I can give you is that if you mess up just keep going. The mistakes you make may be huge to you, but most people won't notice them. Now you could worried about people losing interest. A great way to become a more dynamic and entertaining speaker is to practice. Stand in front of a mirror and talk about random topics. Focus on the way you look and sound and make adjustments. What if your worried about what people will think about what you say? The truth is people will always judge what you say, but the way you say it can make a big difference. If you speak with confidence and passion then people will listen and value your opinion, even when they don’t agree with it. The most important things to remember when your speaking are to be confident in yourself and your opinions, to focus on what matters, and to relax and trust in your own abilities. Realistically, speaking up is scary, but if we never worked to persevere and overcome our fears then we would never accomplish anything. So please comment and share with me some of the techniques you use to overcome the fear.