A time that I failed during this last semester was during my professional speaking course. I completely failed to organize and deliver my speech on the due date, and ultimately had to drop the course. I personally have so much anxiety when it comes to public speaking and I took the course to help with that fear. I don’t have a fear of speaking in front of an audience but rather a fear of remembering every detail and point in my speech. When I dropped the class, I was extremely hard on myself emotionally. I contemplated that I didn’t work hard enough to prepare for it and execute it, and that I could’ve done a better job at practicing my speech so I would be readily prepared. It took me a few weeks to get over the guilt from having to drop the course.
What I learned from this, is that first of all, I did the best that I could at the time. Second, I think that the fact that I’m graded on my speech and it has certain guidelines creates a lot of pressure for myself as a student and that I am not bad at public speaking, but rather bad at being held accountable for it; which is still something I need to work on because accountability is important. Third, that it’s okay to fail. Maybe dropping the course gives me an opportunity to take another course where I can actually learn more and grow from. Fourth, at least I gave the course a try and took a risk at failing, instead of shying away from the opportunity in the beginning. And Fifth, I learned that I’m better at other aspects of public speaking rather than a formatted version that was given in the class.
This class has given me the perspective that taking a risk if worth it; though not everyone is fit for certain things, and to instead, take a risk that’s more fitting to who you are and what your interests are in. Some risks I think are completely irrational decisions, and from this course, I learned that even with the entrepreneurial process every source of information is essential to succeed in the business. I think that’s relatable to taking risks in life. I need to have as much information as possible to then be able to perform a rational risk.
Hi Victoria! I agree with you that the most challenging part of public speaking is the memorization, even more than the actual speaking part. When I took a public speaking course here a couple of semesters ago, it definitely wasn't easy. However, we just need to learn from our mistakes and keep trying! Great post!
ReplyDeleteVictoria,
ReplyDeleteI too can relate about getting anxiety when it comes to public speaking. The key is practice because over time the more you speak in front of people, the easier it will get. I also can agree that this class helped to push me into realizing that it's important to take risk in our lives and that failure is inevitable but it's what we learn out of that situation that we grow.
Hi Victoria, It is always tough reading about failures like this, but as bad as these failures can be, they always provide a learning experience. I am sure you will not make a mistake similar to this again. When we fail in life, we know how to avoid it in the future for when it can be something far more important. This class has also given me a different perspective on failure and risk!
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