Entry 55: Public Speaking

Most people don’t like to speak in public, much less perform. Since today is the poetry contest, and some of you or your peers will be reciting their own work in front of the whole school, write down your feelings about public speaking. Is it something you fear, or do you enjoy it? Is it easier to make a “prose” speech, or recite a poem? What is the difference from the kind of public speaking in which the speaker shouts out from the crowd, and the kind where the speaker stands before the crowd? Why do you think so many people like to do the former, but fear doing the latter?

• My feelings about public speaking are feelings that are very common among people: I am afraid of participating in public speaking. But this was only at the beginning. Now, I do not feeling that way anymore. Instead, I enjoy, and may even love, public speaking. When comparing prose speech to reciting a poem, I believe that prose speech is easier than reciting a poem, because prose speech allows for more freedom of expression and it makes it easier for one to convey emotions. Shouting out from a crowd differs a lot from a person actually standing before the crowd. The main reason is because shouting out from a crowd among many other people takes away the pressure that a person feels when actually making a speech in front of an audience. Making a speech in front of a crowd makes a person feel the pressure of preventing oneself from embarrassing him or her.
• I do not have any special liking or preference between the two types of speech: shouting from the crowd or in front of the crowd. When a person is in the crowd, he or she can talk to his or her friends to discuss about what they want to "shout" out to the other people around them. When a person is making a speech in front of others, he or she can practice their articulation and public speaking skills, as well as his or her confidence.