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Teenage is an intermediate stage between childhood and adulthood. It lays down the framework on which a child's career is etched. It is a delicate stage when a child makes mistakes, learns from them and evolves into a strong adult. During this course, one common fear that almost every teenager encounters is a fear of public speaking. At this delicate age, teens are overwhelmed with the peer pressure and the expectations of family.
Public speaking is a skill that requires patience, dedication and practice. It takes a great deal to be a confident and eloquent speaker who can fascinate and engage the audience simultaneously. Good public speaking is not restricted to its content only. While the content is of significant importance yet the way a speech is delivered also plays a fundamental role.
People may be able to churn out good content about any topic thrown at them yet only a few have the ability to go onto the stage and do justice to the write-up.
Importance of public speaking for teenagers
The relevance and standing of a good speaker in this competitive world cannot be stressed enough. For some, public speaking may just be a need to make connections while for others it may be a wish to pursue a career opportunity.
Confidence
People who can hold their calm in front of hundreds of people are confident not only on stage but in real life as well. For some public speaking is as easy as eating food but for a lot of people speaking in public can be a lot harder
No need to mention that confidence is the first thing that public speaking requires of you. What you need to do is just take the first step and the further path will open up on its own.
Career opportunities
No matter what you are looking for as a career goal, public speaking is a skill pervasive to every profession.
If you want to be a businessman, how will you convince the world of your product if speaking in front of ten people shakes your boots? Or if you wish to be a professor, how will you drive home a point if you can’t stand the gaze of curious students? Or if you want to get into politics, how do you propose to earn the trust of people if you can’t even face them without wanting to hide under the table? In short, how will you get your dream job if the thought of an interview freezes you?
In other words, every field requires confident people who can stand on their own. In addition to this, this skill also opens up career horizons. One can pursue a career in public speaking.
Issues that teenagers face
Now that we understand how important public speaking is, we need to address the problems that teenagers face in this regard.
Anxiety issues
It is a competitive world out there. With growing expectations and problems, anxiety issues are becoming common in teenagers. While some may experience it only a few times, for others it can be a chronic condition which can stop them from taking a step forward.
Many factors can contribute to anxiety issues. One of the major ones is the lack of motivation and over the top expectations from near and dear ones. In other words, when teenagers are not motivated in the right manner to make it through on the stage, it leads them into questioning their way around.
Lack of opportunities
Even if a teenager is confident and willing to speak, there is a factor of lack of opportunities that hinders them to explore this skill.
There are many schools in the world where the extracurricular activities are not given their due relevance. Students are made to learn, cram and write about various topics but never encouraged to present them in front of a large audience.
Ways to work on Public Speaking
Despite the problems faced by teenagers in public speaking, there are many ways to work on this skill. Here are some of the ways that teenagers can take to improve their skills.
Reading
The first thing required of a good speaker is that they are well read. When you go on a stage, it is assumed that you know everything about your topic. A speaker who does not read much is bound to fail one time or another. It takes a lot of research and knowledge to write and present a good speech.
A speaker should be aware of what is happening around. How absurd and disappointing it will be if your teacher does not know the answer to your question. The same goes applies to public speakers as well. They cannot afford to be not aware of what their topics.
Hence, you must be thorough with your topic to be a good public speaker.
Practice
“Rome wasn't built in a day.”
You cannot expect to excel if all you do is to cram a speech to blurt it out on the stage. It takes years of practice, hard work and a lot of mistakes along the way to becoming a good public speaker.
The secret lies in your perseverance. Even if you don’t receive the appreciation and recognition you wanted, you must not give up. You will get there with your determination. Keep practicing and grabbing opportunities to speak in front of your class or friends or family or an audience. Speak as much as you can. Even when you are not presenting anything, you can learn from others.
Public speaking is a skill inculcating which teenagers can open many doors of opportunities for themselves. It becomes a jewel in their personality and boosts their self-esteem.
Written by - Isha Jain
Edited by - Vasudha Sabharwal
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