Public speaking - panic no more?

I have always had a love-hate relationship with public speaking. I get übernervous before speaking, and while I speak I blush - and it's not the cute kind of shy blush, I turn tomato red. This makes me even more nervous, which leads into rushing to finish whatever I wanted to say. In the university my blushing reflect was so active, that when I saw an add about treatment to cure blushing, I booked an appointment for an assessment. (And I also had a deal to write an article about it for my university newspaper.) The solution was to put titanium clips on the nerves leading to my heart: the clips would partially paralize the nerves, and there would be no more blushing. No thank you, I'd rather be red than have titanium suffocating my nerves. (However, the treatment has helped people with a severe social anxiety disorders.)

Despite my nervousness and blushing I have always been drawn to jobs where I have to speak to audiences. I've been a tour guide in a mediaval castle, taught students in elementary and high schools, run workshops, and introduced speakers to the audience in events and conferences. Every time before stepping in front of the audience I think "if I manage this time, next time will be easier". And when the next time comes, I'm again the same nerverack. Few times I've decided I will never again agree to do any public speaking. Haven't been able to stick to that decision either.

Four years ago, when I moved to Canada, I wanted to improve my public speaking skills in English. I learnt about the international organization called Toastmasters, which helps people to hone their speaking skills. (When I heard their name for the first time, I couldn't make the connection between toasted bread and giving speeches ... then I realized the other meaning of a "toast".) There are several clubs in Ottawa, but I was too shy to contact any of them, let alone to visit one of their meetings.

However, this past summer I felt it's time to take the bull by the horns, and attend a Toastmasters meeting. I am so happy I went! It was inspiring, empowering and welcoming, and I soon joined this wonderful group. Already in the first meeting I stood up to say few words. Next time I took part in an exercise called "table topics", which is a quick 1-2 minute speech on a random topic that you will be given just few minutes earlier. Red and panicky, yes. But I spoke, hooray!

By now I have participated in the table topics several times and also given two official speeches, 5-7 min long, in front of the other 20 club members. Based on the feedback I have done very well, and what has been even more exhilarating is that I have enjoyed giving those speeches. I'm still nervous, I still blush, but I feel I am in control of what I do, and to my surprise, I have loved being the center of attention!

Who knows, maybe my relationship with public speaking is turning into love-love?!

I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!

Have you ever been on a business lunch, where you have to say several times "sorry, I couldn't really hear what you said"? After a while you give up, and keep on nodding while wondering if you just missed something important. And you also wonder how much the other person actually hears what you are saying. Or have you been out with friends for a dinner in a place where you all end up yelling - in a friendly manner - at each other? And at the end of the evening your throat is sore, ears are ringing, and you're not sure if you talked about the same things at all. Fun night out, eh?

Not so much. In addition to losing your hearing and possible business or friendship opportunities noise can decrease your work efficiency, harm blood vessels of your heart, create nervous system disorders, or cause eyesight problems. Noise pollution is a serious issue.

I probably went to too many rock concerts in the past without ear plugs, and now I am paying for it, since my ears ring very easily. I have therefore zero tolerance for noise, and I boycott restaurants where you can't even hear your own thoughts. Unfortunately there are many venues like that in Ottawa. It's understadable (but not healthy) that you can't hear each other when you are in a nightclub, but what blows me away is that even in some cute cafes you can't hear each other, even though there's no loud music - or no music - on. The space becomes a cradle of cacophony simply from talking. That should not be the case. Venue owners, soundproofing exists! In a simple google search I got a list of 14 companies in Ottawa, and I'm sure they would be thrilled to improve the experience of your patrons.

If you are worried about your ears, or someone else's ears, and wonder how loud is too loud, check the website of Dangerous Desibels. From their chart I learnt that the level of typical speech is about 55-65 db, and city traffic is about 85 db. Being exposed to that noise level is ok for 8 hours, but anything louder should be shorter term. For example, listening to music on your iPod (or walkman, as stated in the chart) is in the range of 100 db. Did you know that you shouldn't expose your ears to this kind of noise level for more than 15 minutes? What about the people - often teenagers - who sit in the bus and crank their music so high, that it hurts your ears even if you are 3 meters away? Canada is going to have a deaf generation soon.

I am passionate about less noisy Ottawa, and in order to hear each other better and maintain our health, I am urging everyone to tackle the issue. Tell the venue owner that you did not enjoy your stay because you couldn't hear what your friends were saying. Boycott the venues that are too loud, and let them know why you are boycotting them. Tap that teenager on the shoulder and tell him/her that the level of music is dangerous to his/her ears. And if they can't hear you without shouting, write your message on a piece of paper and keep it handy.

Have a silent day!