Building Confidence Through Preparation
Know you’ll be called upon to read aloud at some point. Written language is the best system humans have ever devised for transmitting knowledge. Naturally, your teachers will want you to show what you’ve learned. In English and Social Studies classes, you do most of your learning by reading—so these are the most common classes to read aloud in. However, you can be asked to read something for the class in any subject, even gym. Try to accept this, and prepare for it instead of dreading it.
Do your reading before class. The best way to look prepared is to be prepared. If you’ve read a passage even once, you’ll have a much better grasp of it than someone who’s never looked at it before. Better yet, read the passage through twice, reading quietly to yourself the second time, if you think you might be called on soon. Take good notes. You’ll retain information even better once you’ve written it down. Look up unfamiliar words. If you’re reading out loud and get stuck on a big word you didn’t know before, it can break your flow and mess up your confidence. Similarly, use a pronunciation guide or look up the pronunciation online if you’re unsure how to say a word.
Practice in the mirror. If you have extra time one day, bring your textbook to the nearest reflective surface and read out loud to yourself. You’ll be able to check your own posture, and even practice looking up to make eye contact with yourself.
Practice with a friend. If you have a study buddy, take turns reading important passages to one another. Take breaks to offer constructive feedback. Does your friend not know what to look for? Check in with these questions: Was your voice clear enough? Is it the right volume? Did it sound timid or confident? Does your body language help you seem more prepared? Are you slouching or standing tall? Were there any glaring mistakes (like skipped lines or extremely mispronounced words)?
Don’t expect perfection. Reading out loud can be stressful, and you probably want to do a good job. Still, no one expects you to sound like you’re part of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Don’t sweat it if you don’t sound flawless. Just do your best.
Reading with Confidence
Pay attention. In classes that require reading aloud, be alert. If you get called on several times and don’t notice, you’ll start the reading off flustered, which is not what you want. Stay sharp and be ready.
Smile. You will seem prepared and confident if you react promptly. Smiling will hide a look of surprise, if you’re worried about that. Not only that, but smiling will make you feel just a bit more confident—the movement fools your body into thinking it's happy. Also, you probably want to get this over with as fast as possible, so get started fast.
Take a deep breath. Don’t sigh or make a gasping noise. Just make sure you’ve got a nice flow of air coming into your lungs. Stressed-out people tend to breathe more shallowly, but if you do that, your voice will sound choked. If you’re getting scared, try to breathe in for 3 to 5 seconds, then exhale smoothly.
Start reading. Check that you’re at the right place in the book, and go for it. As you keep reading, you will probably feel yourself growing in confidence, which is great! Focus on the words, and check in with yourself every so often. Monitor the volume of your voice. Make sure you can hear yourself speaking, but don’t scream. Check your speed. Do you tend to talk really fast when you’re nervous, or slow to a drawl? Try to even it out a bit if so. You can throw in some emotion if you feel ready to do so (and there’s emotion happening in the text).
Maintain eye contact if possible. You’ll have to look down at the book, of course, but if you feel up for it, looking up at your classmates can make you seem more confident. If you can't handle eye contact, go ahead and focus on the text. Read to a friend in class who knows you're nervous. They can nod, smile, and give you other clues to assure you that you're doing a good job.
Sit down. Once you’re all done, you can sit back down. Try not to flop into your chair or heave a sigh of relief, if you can. Just be proud of yourself for accomplishing something you found scary before! Reading out loud is good practice for all kinds of public speaking, and you just did an amazing job with it.
Dealing with Nerves and Mistakes
Loosen up (literally). If you are scared, your body reacts by tensing. Therefore, it makes sense that manually relaxing your tense muscles will make you feel a little less scared. You can roll your shoulders back quickly, but if that doesn't help, adjust your posture using some of these tips. Let your arms hang loose at your sides when you stand. If your elbows are stiff for no reason, let them drop naturally so they hang at your sides. Relax your neck. People who are scared or panicking pull their heads back, so letting your head float to a more natural position will help. Lift your chin. This will make your voice sound more resonant and you seem more confident.
Think positively. If you feel nervous or fluttery and relaxing your body isn’t helping, try to comfort yourself with encouraging thoughts. Positive self-talk can power you through hard times, so try to concentrate on what you will find most comforting. If you have a mantra that you repeat when you’re stressed, think of that. Otherwise, try these thoughts. Picture your classmates as friends from preschool. This will make you feel safer and friendly. Remember that no one knows how nervous you are but you. Remind yourself that if you do a decent job, you may not be called again for some time because the teacher sees how well you do and moves on to other students who need more practice.
Work through mistakes. No one is perfect, and sometimes embarrassing things happen, even if you've prepared to read. Remember that no one is flawless, and do your best to fix the problem. In many cases, no one will even notice that you did something wrong. If you mess up a word, or make another small error, it's okay to go back and correct yourself. If you've made another, more time-consuming mistake (like repeating a whole line), push forward as soon as you notice the problem. If your body betrays you, and you sneeze or feel your voice crack, try not to make a big deal out of it. Quickly excuse yourself (if you need to) and get back to the material.
Laugh it off. In the worst case scenario, others might laugh at your mistakes. If you hear laughter and you feel comfortable enough to laugh at yourself, go for it. If not, smile your most patient smile and wait until everyone's done. Keep your face as blank as possible, and your poise will be more memorable than whatever small mistake you made.
Don't mention it. It's a blessing that your reading in class will probably not be the most interesting part of anyone's day, including your own. If you don't want to talk about your performance, that's okay--you don't have to bring it up as a topic of conversation. Just do your best to move on with your day. If anyone brings it up or tries to tease you, and you don't want to talk about it, switch the conversation to something easier. "I thought that reading would never be over, just like that video series we're watching in Spanish! How many more episodes could there be?"
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