It’s 11:30 AM in my Speech class. We have to present a monologue to the class as a project, and we are allowed to use note cards to assist us. I’ll admit it, I was scared going into the day we had to do the speech, and so I signed up for the last slot. However, as I watched the other 28 students go up and present their monologue, only three people, including myself, memorized their speeches, practiced them repeatedly, and did not use note cards. When my turn came around, there were butterflies in my stomach, but not from any worries about ‘what if I messed up?’ Just pre-speech jitters, they disappeared when I started speaking loudly and confidently. I got many compliments on my speech because I was confident, and I was confident only because I practiced, prepared, and asked for help from friends.

“Practice makes perfect”, we’re told from the beginning of our careers as students. And while most of the things we’re told to do and believe when we are children are so much cartloads of cow fertilizer, this is actually a gem. Practice does make perfect; even the best swords master keeps practicing his art long after he have been proven to be the best.

Of course, practice would mean absolutely nothing if you didn’t come prepared. When your are doing a speech, no matter how much time you put into practicing it, if you don’t research the topic you are speaking on before you write your speech, and come to the day you are to present without any note cards, just in case, then all the practice can be for naught. Practicing a sword technique with a kitchen knife is the same thing. No matter how much you practice with a kitchen knife, you aren’t going to be ready with a real sword.

But just like sword techniques, not only do you have to practice with the correct materials with a speech; you have to practice with your opponents, or in the case of a speech, an audience. This is perhaps the most critical aspect of preparing. No matter what it is that you are doing, there will always be some tiny flaw that you will simply not see – or even see as a flaw. This is where friends, family, and random people off the street can help, because they can provide an alternate viewpoint to what you are doing, helping you catch flaws before you actually present. Just like sparring will show that you give an opening that can be taken advantage off, practicing in front of an audience will show you where your weak spots are.

With practice, with preparation, and with getting help from other people, you can become adept at what you are trying to do, and like how a master of a sword can slice silk, you can use this knowledge to cut away your fears of presenting a speech in front of a class and become confident in your ability and yourself.