Public Speaking is the Worst When You Have a Stutter
To public speak or not to public speak. As a person who stutters, public speaking transcends the usual jitters. Some PWS might actually love to talk to crowds or people. They might be an extrovert. But when it comes to public speaking and stuttering, you might not always have the best crowd. So you do say anything at all?
That my friends is the rub.
As we’ve all grown older, we’ve come to understand that talking is kinda hard? From communicating with strangers, or your partners family to having to present in front of your team members, public speaking is kinda a big deal. There are whole classes on something that we will do quite often in our lives. But when you stutter its on a whole other level. Having to make a phone call to order a pizza is one thing. Speaking to your whole team on the reg is another.
I have been in work situations where public speaking both empowered me and my stutter and disempowered me. I might share those stories one day. But one obstacle that I have been debating if I can hurdle is being a teacher.
I had an apprenticeship last year and they opened up applications for alumni to be a captain for the fall semester. Being a captain would mean being a teacher essentially. Me, along with three others, would guide and instruct the interns about marketing over the course of a semester. I would also have to delegate, guide and facilitate these grown adults all over zoom.
The question is if I want to put myself in this position. While I didn’t have much of a choice to partake in public speaking for work, this choice is voluntary. There’s so much more pressure on you as a PWS. Its incredibly hard to be so vulnerable with so many people. In the past, those were strangers. In this situation, they are looking to me, and I feel like if I can’t speak, then I have failed them.
What a terrible thought to have isn’t it?
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