I need a response to the discussion below. The response needs a minimum of 150 words and the word count must also be include. The response also needs to be in APA format, it cant just repeat what the original post stated, it needs to significantly further the conversation 

Speaking with Confidence

       When I think about Public Speaking the  first image that comes to mind is a room full of people making fun of  every word that comes out of my mouth. Ever since childhood I have been  an extremely shy person and, even though I have managed my way through  conversations, I still lack confidence when meeting new people. If I had  to summarize the major factors that account for my nervousness and lack  of confidence; shyness, fear of people making fun of me, and  second-guessing would be the culprits.

        While for some people Public Speaking is almost like second nature, it  is very much the contrary for many others including myself. This type of  fear or nervousness impedes us from reaching our full potential. When I  say that one of the factors that make me nervous when speaking is my  fear of people making fun of me, it is due to the fact of English not  being my first language. It may sound weird, but I still think in  Spanish and translate everything in my mind before I can deliver my  message or put words on paper, even after being in this country for  eleven years. This increases my fear even more because now I have to  worry about speaking in front of people along with making sure that I  say the right words. Thankfully there are many strategies that one can  put into practice to ease the burden of speaking in public.

       While reading about this topic I  learned about the Power of Visualization, something I did not know  existed. The fact that you can picture yourself being successful before a  speech or specific scenario must be, in my opinion, the easiest  strategy to implement when overcoming nervousness and lack of  confidence. Regardless of how lucid or positive this mental blue print  may be, we must acknowledge the nervousness we feel in these situations  in order to successfully apply the Power of Visualization (Lucas, 2015.  Pg. 13).

       Drawing conclusions, Public Speaking is  and will always be a skill we must learn how to master by implementing  the skills we have learn thus far in this class. No matter how shy,  nervous or afraid we may be, we must face our fear of speaking in public  by practicing and preparing ourselves. Only then will we begin to  overcome our fear of Public Speaking.

WC: 395

Reference: 

Lucas, S. E. (2015). The Art of Public Speaking (12th ed.). New York, NY : McGraw Hill Education.