In graduate school, I taught public speaking and was known for being tough. In one of my classes, a student started his speech with arms stretched across the lectern. In 2 minutes, his hands were grabbing the front edge, knuckles turning white. He began to perspire.
As I witnessed his behavior from the back of the room, I wrote on his evaluation form, “No leaning on the lectern. Use hands for gesturing. Don’t grasp the podium. Showing white knuckles reveals your nervousness, etc.”
Before I could finish, the student passed out and fell to the floor. The entire class turned and looked at me as if to say, “OK Teach, what are you going to do about this?”
I ran to the podium and comforted the student for about five minutes. The room was very quiet. I was ready to dismiss class, but thought I should give the student a say in what happened next. I asked, “what would you like to do?” He bravely said, “Finish my speech.” You could feel the room sigh. He completed his speech, with all of us on pins and needles, secretly cheering him on. It was the last speech of the day for all of us.
Donna Vincent Roa
Managing Partner & Chief Strategist – Vincent Roa Group, LLC
