Strength

I hate public speaking. 18 months of my masters degree, I avoided all the assessment that required me to speak/present one way or another. (Often asking my group members to present). In Manila, I did have to do power point presentations and I hated it very much.

Couple of weeks ago, I had to go to the Uni to meet with a Professor. I never take the lift as I really want toned legs and intend to wear short skirts in to my 70’s. Just as I was going up the steps, a staff from another department whom I know vaguely was coming down the steps. She was wearing a beautiful dress and I told her that.

10 minutes after that, I got an email from the Director asking me if I am free to meet him right away. So, I went to see him.

Turned out that they desperately needed a tutor for medical students as the current one had a family emergency and the person  whose dress I commented on  was heading to attend the crises management meeting  and she mentioned at the meeting that she just saw me and think I should be asked.

Long story short, I got a job as a tutor. I wanted to stick around in Brisbane this year till my son finishes his grade 12 and had declined the job offer in Manila. This job was perfect. But the only issue was public speaking. Apart from the fact that I never ever taught medical students until that moment. I heard from other tutors that it is a very hard job as most medical students think of themselves as high and mighty. Plus this was the middle of the semester and I have no clue what the students have already being taught.

Last Thursday was my first class and this morning my boss forwarded me a mail that was sent by a student.

My point is writing this point is about fear. We all have fear of not being able to do something. But there is strength in all of us. If you set your mind in to something, you can do it. I proved it.

 

8 thoughts on “Strength

  1. “If you set your mind in to something, you can do it. I proved it.”

    Agreed! Public speaking is not something I am great at also. I used to get so nervous standing in front of people and speaking, however the public health program I am in had us do a lot of speaking in front of others and I find that there is a big change from where I would stutter and forget what I wanted to say ( hence looking like an idiot), to being an good speaker. I think part of that was my professors and classmates always showed that they appreciated my presentation despite how well you had presented it. Like they knew everyone is at different levels regarding this aspect.

  2. here is some advice from someone I know. . . hadnt heard of beet juice before

    Lots of things. Let’s start with drills. Grab a group of friends and deliver the speech with a cartoon or animated voice. My specialty is Arnold, but my students often use Mickey Mouse or even their grandmothers Indian accent. It has to be done in front of friends though. They will start to laugh and this is good. Next. Improve your blood oxygen level. Anxiety is closely related to restricted blood vessels and limits the amount of oxygen to your brain. The only natural way to combat this in the short term in a healthy way is to juice a large glass of beet juice ( yes the big ugly red vegetable) and down it…. yes I know it may be gross. But it will improve your oxygen levels in your brain by 15-20% you have know idea how much this makes your speech more fluid and you can let your thoughts manifest into evolve more quickly. I speak in front of people every day. Even though it may be serious the key is to not take yourself to seriously. Find your flow.
    Once you find it goose bumps will develop on your arms then off you go

    • Ra:Nah, beet juice won’t make a difference. There were couple of studies done in Athletes by looking at the mitochondrial efficiency. No studies have ever been done that suggests beets would improve oxygen to your brain.

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