It is very natural about feeling nervous, self conscious and shy in front of other students when talking or participating in a class. But there are various steps a student can try to overcome such features and they are:
To make yourself prepared before speaking to a group
Before participating in class a student should think and make himself well prepared and then speak. Plan out all the strategies. Get all the material ready and plan out the details about the topic of the discussion. This way a student will feel more relaxed.
You should also learn to know what exactly you are going to speak about. For example have an outline of information and facts you are going to talk about. You should also know your audience. Before speaking anything you should see whether your audiences are the seniors, juniors, teachers or your classmates. You can also check for conditions like using a microphone, or board and get a feel of things in case participating on stage.
Practice your speech
If you are not able to speak in a class you can try a few things like speaking on a topic all alone in a room and saying out loud. This will help you to overcome your fear. A student can also try speaking by looking into a mirror as you will get an idea how you look while speaking and help you gain confidence. It will also help you to practice eye contact with the audience. By standing in a corner of the room and saying something will make the sound reflect back to you and give you an idea how you sound while speaking. You can also practice saying something in front of your friends or parents.
Relax before speaking
In case you are asked to speak all of sudden, then in that case take three breaths and make yourself settle down first before getting out of your chair. Then start going to the lectern and thanking the person who has asked you to do so. Now start counting from 1 to 10 before you start speaking. This way also shows that you are in control.
This will make the audience get settled and ready to hear you. It is not that easy as it sounds but if you done all your preparations, you deserve to be in control and can be sure of yourself of the situation.
