Glossophobia Speech Essay

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One of the hardest things for me would have to be what I’ve been asked to do today. It affects at least 75% of all people. It is said to be the single most common phobia, many rate it worse than death. It is Glossophobia, also known as the fear of public speaking. The symptoms of glossophobia are arranged in three categories: physical, verbal, and non-verbal. Physical symptoms include increased heart rate, blood pressure, perspiration and oxygen intake, sensitive hearing, tight neck and upper back muscles, enlarged pupils, and a dry mouth. Verbal symptoms include a quivering and tense voice, and acting like a broken record repeating words like “umm” and “ahh”. And non-verbal symptoms include the fight or flight response which stops you from performing as well as you could have. Some ways of preventing glossophobia are going to speech training courses which help reduce the fear but not cure it. I’ve also been told that imagining the audience in their underwear helps to cure the nervousness. But it makes me feels quite uncomfortable and a bit frightened. Anyway, I’ve been performing on the Founders theatre stage just about every year since I was 6 years old. I’ve never been all that scared of going on stage and just acting. Because when you act you don’t have to be yourself. You can be anyone you want. But it is a lot harder when you have to stand in front of a large group of people and express your self or share personal issues. You’ve got to be yourself, and voice your own opinion. Most people can dance and perform on stage easily and nothing goes wrong until they try to speak or sing in front of an audience. My first words on stage by myself were “How about a round of golf?” ahh, yes, I remember it well. I was one of the princess’s ladies in waiting, for the play Sleeping Beauty in July 2005. Not that long ago really. Sure it was only 6 words. But hey,

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