Confidence Reloaded

Palms clammy with sweat, stuttering and looking around aimlessly, I stood in front of the 9th grade English class, looking and feeling clueless. What I had spent hours researching had flown out of my head like a bird escaping from its cage. Stage fright had been a thorn in the flesh; a thorn I thought I could never escape from. In my 10th grade, I embarked on an unthinkable quest to conquer my stage fright. This experience culminated in one of my proudest achievements.

Pexel

In the spirit of my pursuit, I met with the Chaplain of my school and spoke with him about my intentions to do a talk on correct word usages, particularly on shoe types, since I noticed that most of the students in school often mistook flip flops for slippers. The Chaplain agreed and gave me a date. The daily chapel service happened to be the only moment the whole school assembled.

As the day drew near, I started contemplating on telling the chaplain that I had changed my mind but I knew it was something I had to do. I have always wanted to be like Michelle Obama. Only God knows the number of videos of Michelle Obama that I had on my phone because I was interested in learning good public speaking skills. How she spoke with so much confidence and poise was something I really admired.

Immediately I got home from school the day before the D-day, I picked up my phone and watched another video of Michelle Obama. I felt a little wave of confidence as my brain and body were ready to work. After concluding my research on shoes, I began my usual routine . For the past weeks, I recorded several videos of myself on my phone while speaking after which I would watch the videos, take note of my mistakes and effect the changes on my next video. Sometimes, I practised in front of the mirror, my friends and my mom.

June 20, 2016 will always remain evergreen in my mind. That day ran faster than any other day and chapel service, which was always long and boring, felt like it happened in a second. I jerked out of my thoughts when I heard the chaplain say my name on stage. As I stared at the audience, my nightmare began to resurface. I had forgotten everything. All I could remember was the word, "shoes''no. The audience started booing as I could not say anything for about five minutes. The chaplain had already started walking towards the podium when I said the first sentence, "Good afternoon school!" I could hear my voice and I knew I was awkwardly too loud. The hall suddenly became quiet and I could feel they were all waiting anxiously to hear my next sentence. With poise and carefully pronouncing the words, moving my eyes around but conscious not to look at anybody in particular, and controlling my breathing, I spoke with confidence.

Pexel

In ten minutes, my presentation was over. The audience quietly looked on attentively, maybe yearning to hear more. By the time they realised it was over, a few seconds had passed. Well, I thought I had just done the worst presentation but to my utmost surprise, my Principal was the first to stand up and clap. Teachers followed suit and soon, the whole audience gave me a standing ovation.

I had never felt so accomplished. Though I do not have any medal to show for this, no academic distinction in the world can match what I gained from this experience: courage, self-confidence and determination. The following term, I founded the "Word for the Day" Club to help students who were in my situation and who wanted to develop their public speaking skills. I still learn and practice more on public speaking and I hope to be one of the best public speakers someday.