By Alex Rivera — Hated the class at the time. Quotes it all the time now.
Last updated: April 2026
In high school, I had to take a class called Speech and Communication. Public speaking. I dreaded it. Every day, I thought about skipping. Every day, I went anyway. Mostly because my mom would have killed me if I got detention.
I was shy. Not the cute kind. The kind where you feel your face get hot when a teacher calls on you. The kind where you rehearse a sentence in your head three times before saying it out loud.
A class where I had to stand in front of people and talk? That was my nightmare.
I gave my first speech. I forgot part of it. I stood there, silent, while everyone watched. A few kids laughed. Not meanly. But they laughed. I wanted to disappear.
I got a C. The teacher wrote: “Good ideas. Work on delivery.”
I hated that class.
What Happened Next
I did not become a great public speaker overnight. I did not even become good. But I had to keep taking the class for the whole semester. So I kept trying.
My second speech was better. Still nervous. Still forgot a few things. But I did not freeze completely.
My third speech was about something I actually cared about. A local park that was going to be turned into a parking lot. I practiced for hours. I knew the material cold. For the first time, I was not thinking about my voice or my hands. I was thinking about the park.
I got an A. Not because I was suddenly good at speaking. Because I cared about what I was saying.
That was the lesson. Not “how to give a speech.” But “caring about your topic makes you better at everything.”
How That Class Shows Up in My Life Now
I am not a public speaker. I do not give presentations for work. I do not do TED Talks.
But I use what I learned almost every day.
| Situation | What I Learned |
|---|---|
| Job interviews | How to speak clearly when I am nervous |
| Telling a story at dinner | How to keep people interested |
| Explaining a problem to customer service | How to be clear and not ramble |
| Arguing with my partner | How to say what I mean without getting defensive |
| Asking for a raise | How to state my value without feeling embarrassed |
That class gave me a skill I did not know I needed. Not the skill of public speaking. The skill of speaking when I would rather be quiet.
What I Learned
Fear does not go away. You just get better at acting through it.
My heart still beats fast before I have to talk in front of people. That has not changed. What changed is that I do it anyway.
Preparation is the real confidence.
I was nervous on the speeches I did not practice. I was less nervous on the ones I did. The work came before the confidence.
Everyone is nervous.
The kids who looked calm? They told me later they were also terrified. They just hid it better. Knowing that helped.
The class I hated gave me something I use all the time.
Funny how that works. The classes I liked—history, art, creative writing—I use less often in daily life. The one I almost skipped every day? That one stuck.
What I Am Not Saying
I am not saying everyone needs to take public speaking. Some people are fine without it.
I am not saying you should force yourself to do things that cause you real distress. There is a difference between discomfort and genuine fear.
I am just saying: sometimes the class you hate the most is the one you need the most. Not because it is fun. Because it teaches you something you cannot learn any other way.
A Question Worth Asking
If you are in a class right now that you hate, ask yourself: is there anything in here I might actually use later?
Not the subject matter. The skills.
Organization. Meeting deadlines. Working with people you do not like. Speaking in front of others. Explaining your thinking. Handling pressure.
The class content might not matter. The skills you build while taking it might.
The Bottom Line
I almost skipped Speech and Communication every single day. I hated it. I was bad at it. I was embarrassed.
Now I use what I learned all the time. Not because I became a great speaker. Because I learned how to say something when I would rather say nothing.
That class did not change my life dramatically. But it made my daily life easier. And that is more than most classes did.
About the author: Alex Rivera was shy in high school. Still is sometimes. But now he knows how to speak when it matters.
This article reflects personal experience. Different people have different strengths. What worked for one person may not work for another.
