Hi, LilMiss...
I, too, had fear of public speaking but was required to for a Composition class that I took my Freshman year in High School and as I didn't receive any help at that time or for years to follow, ended up avoiding classes like Speech and Debate and have actually steered away from jobs that might even have a chance of including giving presentations of any sort...because I felt such crippling fear. I ended up speaking too fast, forgetting to breath and swallow and would trip over my words and begin to feel my face flush. At the end of the day, no one really cares about how I looked but it FEELS like such a big deal at the time, I know..
I am so thrilled for you and do you know just how blessed you are to have this program in your hands at your age? I really think it will work for you the more that you practice, as Paislee suggested. As Lucinda stated, the only way that this program is going to work is to start practicing out in every day situations and using the tools that we've learned. Perhaps listening one or two of the prior CDs the night before having to step up in front of people would really give you that last minute encouragement that you need.
I would also suggest doing the deep breathing exercise for several minutes before you have to give your presentation. Also, make sure to speak slowly and with personality. It's actually much easier to do this in addition to making eye contact with the audience inbetween reading your paper(s) than to just look down the entire time and read just to get it over with. Use inflection in your tone rather that reading in the same tone and glance occasionally up to the left and then the same to the middle and then to the right...
The more you practice this, the better you will become and the more confident you will be. I know you can do it, Girl, and best of luck going forward!
God bless
