I've recently become aware that I have some issues speaking in public. I think I always had them - I don't remember a time when it suddenly became a problem. Basically, I can't speak loudly or shout. When I'm alone, I'm fine. I can shout as loud as anyone else. But when I'm talking to anyone, even one on one, I can't seem to raise my voice above a bare minimum. It becomes an issue when I'm talking to someone in a noisy space, and they can't hear me. I literally try to shout as loud as I can, and I just can't. I also have trouble reading out loud (when around others), despite being a fast silent reader. Aloud, I mix up the words etc. (This was particularly a problem at school when teachers told me to read out loud, then started picking on me when I was crap at it.) Has anyone come across this sort of thing before? Is there a solution to it? EDIT: It occurred to me I should probably describe what I'm feeling when this happens. I generally dislike people, and they make me anxious, but this happens even if I'm talking to someone I know well. Also, the level of anxiety people cause me isn't that high, apart from the speech issue, I can function well enough.
This is one of reasons I'm taking speech therapy. People have asked me to speak up because they can't hear me. At first I thought it was just some people that needed a hearing aid. However, it's happened so often it must be me. In order to get insurance to pay for the therapy we had to say it was for increasing lung capacity and endurance. BTW it is working. I'm speaking louder and with more confidence in my voice.
I have a similar sort of problem... sort of. My voice is generally just... normal, if a bit loud sometimes, when I'm comfortable with people. With others, it's softer, especially in public. I have a story which might... make you feel a bit better. It's a bit humorous... maybe. My French teacher asked me to read a passage out loud in French. I did so... But no one heard me, ugh. Haha. He said something along these lines: I couldn't hear a word you said at all. And then we just moved on, thankfully. Woo. I can't say anything exactly helpful on this topic, but you're not alone in that regard. I'm sure many can relate, whether they post or not.
I totally get what you mean about the reading out loud. I just substitute random words for others in my head, or I casually rewrite a sentence as I'm reading it. Also when I'm speaking to people I'm not familiar with or I don't like I'm really quite. When I feel anxious talking to someome I stutter. I find slowing down amd really thinking through what I'm going to say helps. If I know what I'm saying is good enough for me then I speak with more confidence (louder) and if I know what I'm going to say then I won't stutter as much!
I am the same way. This year I've been recording myself talking on video alot. I hate seeing myself on camera and hate hearing my own voice, but slowly it is helping me.
I've had stutter for all my life, and it's crappy. :L I've been on multiple speech therapy courses, and they have boosted my confidence. I'd say the best thing is to slow down, and make sure you're confident. My main problem is that I talk too fast, but I know that isn't the case for everyone with speech issues. Honestly, just belief in yourself I find is the best help. There is always the doubt that something is going to go wrong, but I find after the first few sentences of a presentation, I relax and just go for it.
This is a good idea. You not only see whether your voice is high enough to be heard, but you also can see your body language. A speech's effect isn't solely contingent on the content; how you deliver it matters too. Sometimes you may use too many vocal interferences (ums, uhs), perhaps you don't pronounce words correctly, etc. These are things that you may catch when observing a recording of yourself. I'm not really a people person either, but some practice helped for public speaking. Perhaps you could prepare a speech and deliver it while pretending that inanimate objects are actual people? It sounds a bit silly, but I did this several times for my Intro to Communications course when I had to prepare my debate speech. Once I actually delivered the speech, although I had a copy of it in front of me to read, I didn't feel nervous when speaking. The eye contact made with the inanimate objects helped me keep eye contact with the audience too.
