2012-11-13, 09:12 PM
I;m better on the fly and am almost never prepared for anything, which in hind sight is REALLY bad. When I do have notecards, I find it hard not to just read the cards straight off. I write fairly well and write decent speeches/talks, but I just find it annoying when other people read their notecards and stop looking at the audience when they're talking because it feels impersonal.
As for you it sounds like you need to be less nervous and to relax before your speaking. While not entirely possible to completely rid yourself of nerves, being able to calm yourself and to focus on the talk at hand would benefit you well. Some things you can't really control (like your subconscious hand thingy or the dry mouth), but that's what practice and water are for (just don't drink a crapton of it while on stage). If anything, I'd have you practice in front of someone/some people in order to get feedback without being graded on it. That's what a few people I know do for interviews. They have their friends/adults give them a mock interview so that they can eliminate the "umms..." and empty pockets of "i don't know X but I can try Y?" Rehearsals don't help you unless you have an audience to see what's going on with yourself. I'd work on calming the nerves and relaxing before your speeches instead of being all wound up by the moment. I don't know if this helps you with anything :/
As for you it sounds like you need to be less nervous and to relax before your speaking. While not entirely possible to completely rid yourself of nerves, being able to calm yourself and to focus on the talk at hand would benefit you well. Some things you can't really control (like your subconscious hand thingy or the dry mouth), but that's what practice and water are for (just don't drink a crapton of it while on stage). If anything, I'd have you practice in front of someone/some people in order to get feedback without being graded on it. That's what a few people I know do for interviews. They have their friends/adults give them a mock interview so that they can eliminate the "umms..." and empty pockets of "i don't know X but I can try Y?" Rehearsals don't help you unless you have an audience to see what's going on with yourself. I'd work on calming the nerves and relaxing before your speeches instead of being all wound up by the moment. I don't know if this helps you with anything :/