Michael J. Pope Jr., an introverted IT professional, describes his first public speaking engagement in summer 2003. Asked to give a 4-to-6-minute introduction, he battled racing heart, sweating, and dry mouth at the podium. He got through it and felt a quiet sense of accomplishment.
Chapters
Aukinyu. Raise your hand if you've ever been nervous speaking before. Yeah, me too. I see your hand there, Jules. I'll never forget the first time I was asked to speak in front of the public. It was the summer of 2003, and I was asked to do a short 4 to 6 minutes of each about me, and I was absolutely terrified. You see, I'm a natural introvert and an IT professional, and the last thing that I wanted to do that day was stand up in front of a crowd and talk. So as I sat in my seat in anticipation of being called up, I came down with a bad case of the "what ifs." What if I forget my lines? What if they don't like me? What if, what if, what if? And I heard my name get called up, and so I slowly started making my way to the front of the room. And with every step, my heart would start beating fast and the nervousness would increase. When I stood in front of the person who introduced me, my hair was dripping with sweat because of how nervous I was. And I looked out at the crowd and I literally thought that the people in the front row could see the butterflies fluttering on my stomach. I started to speak and my mouth felt like it was so dry as if I had been chewing cotton balls all morning. I grabbed my nose and said, "Hi, my name is Michael." Those 4 minutes felt like 4 hours. And when I finished, I nervously went back to my seat and I sat down. Now, as an introvert, I just sat quiet, but on the inside I was like, "Yes, I did it, I get it!"
