Red Mosquito

Are you any good at it? Have you ever been forced to speak in front of a crowd? Have you joined toastmasters? Do you like it?

I hate it and I’m terrible at it and thinking about it makes me want to die

I've agonized about it beforehand, but it's never as bad as it seems.

I love it..never had a problem with it...my dad loved it as well, maybe I got it from him...

Yeah, doesn't bother me at all even when I haven't prepared at all and need to improvise which is usually the case. But I won't lie in school when it really mattered I brought notes to work off of.

I love it because I'm a giant blowhard

I am not as blowhard as Jorge not even close but I am sorta into myself so yeah no doubt that's where it comes from

Jorge wrote: Sun May 10, 2026 8:48 pm I love it because I'm a giant blowhard

Teach me how to blow

I think you already blow pretty good

Lol

I don’t mind it. As long as I’m prepared, I kinda even enjoy it. Going off the cuff is a bit more difficult for me, tho.

I had to take extensive training in it, and have given briefings to 500+ people in the past. I never minded it, but hadn't had to do it in a long time. Then, earlier this year when I was in the show my wife was directing, I got nervous as hell before the first few shows. Terrible.

Well public speaking isn't the same as public singing and dancing! I never get nervous when I have to speak in public but definitely do if I'm performing music or something else I'm less confident in.

for me, public speaking is talking to anyone in person who i'm not very familiar with, whether it be one or more people, and it has been quite challenging in the past. in high school i had extreme panic attacks when having to speak in front of others. but i've come a long way. what really helped me was putting into perspective how people aren't necessarily better than me. i used to think every one had a right to judge me negatively for some reason, probably very low self esteem. but really i learned they're not better than me. we're all flawed people, and if they're going to judge me, that's their problem and it doesn't affect me so much. i'm stronger now. but people still scare me because i know how (often unfairly) judgmental they can be, but i don't value their opinions like i used to, and I actually value my own.

I've given talks at conventions and expos and stuff. I convince myself that no one is going to remember anything I said 5 minutes afterwards anyway, so it doesn't matter if I make an ass of myself. And I try to keep it casual.

I would consider public speaking to be one of my greatest strengths. I regularly present to crowds of 10-100+ people with teaching and other various job-related obligations.

My biggest problem as a speaker when I go to conferences is forgetting to remove my lanyard during my talk

Y'all may be good at public speaking but I get the public speaking.

lvc wrote: Mon May 11, 2026 7:15 pm Y'all may be good at public speaking but I get the public speaking.

Wow

If I could just say a few words, I'd be a better public speaker!