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The Most Important Teenage Skill that No One Talks About
Learn what it is and how you can develop it
I completely forgot my speech when I stood in front of my high school 10th grade English class. During the five seconds of silence, my face became increasingly red as the judgment of my classmates’ eyes seared my confidence.
I felt alienated, incompetent, and humiliated.
I understand why public speaking is the number-one fear. It’s incredibly vulnerable and we humans are prone to mistakes. The pressure can easily doom your performance.
Speech class didn’t change me
I hated how I performed that day, so I signed up for a summer class at the community college.
While I learned a lot about how speeches were structured, I did not learn how to speak confidently. In my first speech, I walked to the front of the room with my index cards and used them to shield my red face. The second time, I pretended like no one was listening and recited my speech to the back wall.
I was the same girl in 10th grade — nervous and scared about the consequences of failing in front of many people.