Ferreira 1 Aubrey Ferreira Professor Guenzel ENC 1101-0107 15 September 2013 Public Speaking What are you most

afraid of? a team of market researchers asked 3000 U.S. inhabitants. (qtd. in Book of Lists) Forty one percent of people answered speaking before a group. Nineteen percent of people answered death. Overall, seventy five percent of the worlds population today shares a common fear of public speaking in some way. However, I am one in the twenty five percent of people that doesnt have that fear. I never thought I would love public speaking but different experiences in my life have shaped my outgoing personality, my love for performing in front of audiences, and my ability to write and perform speeches on a competitive level. Now my dreams in life revolve around my love for public speaking. Starting at the age of eight I was forced in a position to make friends quickly or be bored out of my mind. My dad is an artist, and with the help of my mom, they own a business. My parents travel almost every weekend to different art shows all around Florida and around the country. Because I am an only child I would always have to go to the different art shows with my parents. Art shows arent exactly fun for a kid or teenage girl. At first all I could really do was sit behind the booth and re-watch the small collection of movies I owned on my parents laptop. When there was another artist who had a son or daughter at the art show I had the opportunity to make a friend and have some fun that weekend. The shows were usually from seven a.m. to six p.m. so there was no time to waste. If I saw someone around my age, I would walk right up to them, ask if they were an artists kid, and ask if they wanted to hangout. Hanging out involved

Ferreira 2 walking around the show, which is usually on a main street, and looking at the stores on that street. Youd be surprised how long you can be entertained with a Walgreens. One of my best show-friends names was Julia, I remember sitting in the magazine aisle of different Walgreens around Florida and reading every magazine there was being entertained for hours. There was almost always a Starbucks in walking distance from every show; I spent many weekends sitting in Starbucks with Julia watching movies on my laptop, enjoying the air conditioning. Julia is three years older than me so she stopped going to shows when I was 13, when she turned 16. I havent seen her in years but thanks to social networking we still manage to keep in touch. Over the seven years I went to art shows with my parents I made countless friends that I was inseparable with for the weekend then never saw again. I would make friends with other artists, with people working at a store located right by the show, with people sitting on a bench, with anyone (in a safe way). As many times as people were friendly to me, there were many times people would look at me funny and think I was weird or strange. I learned to not let that affect me at all and to not be afraid of what people thought of me. After all, I would most likely never see them again. My parents job gave me a huge advantage to public speaking; being outgoing and not being afraid of speaking to people has made me not be afraid of speaking to an audience. With the outgoing personality I developed from my parents job, I fell in love with the dream of being a famous actress early in sixth grade. My parents supported me and allowed me to take a six-month acting course at Barbizon school of modeling and acting. The course taught a lot about confidence and basic acting strategies. In early October of 2006 I auditioned for a big acting convention in Los Angeles called IMTA, International Model and Talent Association, and made the cut. There was a four month preparation process for the convention that included

Ferreira 3 workshops on acting every 2-3 weeks that taught me all about facial expressions, tone of voice, body movement, and memorization. At the convention itself, held at The Westin Bonaventure in downtown LA, I was in five different competitions and performed in front of hundreds of people, while being filmed and shown on two big screens. I won second place for two of the competitions I was in, honorable mention for the other three and young miss actress of the year second runner up. Along the IMTA journey, workshops and the actual convention I made many friends that I got really close since we had the same passion. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life that taught me so much about acting and performing, and many skills that are very important in public speaking. I realized my ability to perform in front of audiences wouldnt just be helpful with acting shortly after IMTA, the day every student at my middle school was told they had to participate in the National Modern Woodman of America Oration Competition. Everyone was given the same topic, Who made a difference in America and why? and had to write a three to five minute speech and perform it in their English class. English teachers selected the top three students with the best speeches of their classes. Those students competed in front of the school and the winner and runner-up went on to the district level competition. The top two district winners went on to the state competition and the state winner went on to the national level. In sixth grade, I won third place in state. After that, I looked forward to it every year. It brought out a competitive side I didnt even know I had in me. Writing the speech was quite a process in itself; I researched for hours looking online and reading books at the library. Next, I wrote a great amount of drafts, and worked hard to use expressive language that captivated the audience. My favorite part of the process came after I finished writing it, the practicing. First I memorized it, then I practiced the variations in my voice, next I practiced my facial expressions in the mirror, then I would plan my

Ferreira 4 movement, moving with purpose, not just mindlessly. After I had this all down, I practiced in front of my parents countless times. My mom videotaped me so I could watch myself and see what I wanted to improve. After weeks of practicing I finally felt ready to compete. In seventh grade, I won state and went onto the national level, and in eighth grade I won district. At the time I was set on being an actress and didnt think of the career possibilities that went along with public speaking. Just four short weeks ago I had to perform my first speech since my middle school years in my Fundamentals of Oral Communication class at UCF. After being accepted into UCF I was faced with the problem of still not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. My dreams when I was younger were unrealistic and now I had to pick a career path that wasnt acting or being on TV. I chose to be an advertising and public relations major but I was still not sure if that was right for me. Giving my speech in my Oral Communication class changed everything. I was reminded how I can use my experience and knowledge of how to use facial expressions, body movement, tone of voice, memorization skills, and perform in front of an audience in such a way that isnt just acting. I found my passion. According to a survey in Book of Lists, more people claim their biggest fear is speaking in front of a crowd rather than fearing death. This statistic blows my mind because speaking in front of a crowd or audience is when Im happiest. Different experiences in my life have led me to have a passion and love for public speaking. My parents job truly shaped my personality and made me the way I am, outgoing. My personality shaped my dreams of being an actress. My dreams gave me experience that led me to public speaking. My new realistic dream is to have a successful career that involves public speaking, so I can do what I love. I plan on working as hard as I can to make this dream come true.

Ferreira 5 Work Cited Wallechinsky, David, Irving Wallace, and Amy Wallace. The Book of Lists. London: Cassell, 1997. Print.