Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 472, Feeling Nervous About Public Speaking.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 472.
I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you.
The learning guide contains all of the vocabulary definitions, sample sentences, additional definitions, comprehension questions, cultural notes and a complete transcript of this episode.
This episode is called Feeling Nervous About Public Speaking.
It's a dialogue between Simone and Gabriel.
They're going to be talking about some common vocabulary used to describe when you get nervous before having to speak in front of a large group.
Let's get started.
They're about to introduce you.
You're on next.
Are you ready?
No, yes, no.
You don't look so well.
Are you all right?
I don't know.
My palms are clammy, I'm breaking out into a cold sweat, and my legs feel like jelly.
It sounds like a bad case of stage fright.
That's all.
Just take a deep breath.
You'll be fine.
I have butterflies in my stomach and my mouth is dry.
Where can I get a glass of water?
I don't know and there isn't time.
Oh God, if I go out there, I'm going to freeze up or get tongue-tied.
I just know it.
Get a hold of yourself.
You're well prepared and you'll do a great job.
Okay, they've just announced your name.
Get out there.
I can't.
The entire audience is waiting for you.
Pull yourself together and get out there.
Here goes nothing.
Our dialogue begins with Simone saying, Simone is talking to Gabriel.
Gabriel is about to give a talk, a speech to a group of people.
Simone says, you're on next, meaning you are the next person to do something.
It is your turn, we might also say.
Are you ready?
And Gabriel says, no, yes, no.
Simone says, you don't look so well.
Are you all right?
Gabriel says, I don't know.
My palms are clammy.
Your palms are the insides of your hands, but not including your fingers.
The word palm actually has a couple of different meanings in English.
Take a look at the learning guide for some additional explanations.
Gabriel's palms are clammy.
C-L-A-M-M-Y
Clammy means a little bit wet, a little cold, perhaps, not very pleasant to touch.
Well, if your palms are clammy, typically that means you're nervous.
Gabriel says, I'm breaking out into a cold sweat.
To break out into a cold sweat means to suddenly have your skin begin to feel wet, usually because you are very scared or nervous.
Gabriel also says that his legs feel like jelly.
Jelly is normally a sweet food made from fruit and sugar...
It's similar to another word, jam, J-A-M.
But here, it's used to describe someone's muscles feeling very weak.
Somebody says, my legs feel like jelly.
They mean, my legs feel weak.
Again, probably because you are nervous.
At least, that's the case for Gabriel.
Simone says it sounds like a bad case of stage fright, that's all.
To have a bad case of something means to have a serious or very severe instance or situation.
You could have a bad case of coughing if you were coughing a lot and it was causing you pain.
Well, Gabriel has a bad case of stage fright.
Stage describes the place where you stand to give a speech or perhaps where the actors stand when they are performing a play.
Usually it's a little bit higher than the floor where you are sitting.
Fright means to be afraid.
So stage fright is fear of speaking or performing in front of a large group.
When I was in high school, I was a member of the speech team.
This was a group of students that competed with other students by giving speeches on different topics.
I would always have some stage fright before it was my turn to speak.
Simone says to Gabriel, just take a deep breath.
You'll be fine.
To take a deep breath means to breathe in a lot of air very slowly.
That's to take a deep breath.
You let it out and it helps relax you.
Gabriel says, I have butterflies in my stomach and my mouth is dry.
The expression to have butterflies in your stomach means that you feel very nervous and possibly sick.
Your stomach perhaps is reacting to all the nervousness, the stress.
So having butterflies in your stomach is another way of saying how nervous you are.
So nervous that you might feel ill, you might feel sick.
Gabriel says, where can I get a glass of water?
Simone says, I don't know, and there isn't time.
You don't have time to go get a glass of water.
Gabriel says, oh God, if I go out there, I'm going to freeze up or get tongue tied.
I just know it.
When you freeze up, you are unable to move or do anything, usually because you are very scared or surprised at something.
To get tongue-tied means to be unable to speak clearly or to say or make a complete sentence.
So if you are freezing up and are tongue-tied, you're not going to be able to talk.
The verb freeze has several different meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
Simone says, get a hold of yourself.
The expression to get a hold of oneself means to calm down and control your words and actions.
Someone who becomes very excited, very angry perhaps, may be unable to control themselves.
In Gabriel's case, he's very nervous.
So Simone is saying, get a hold of yourself, calm down, control your thoughts and actions.
You're well prepared and you'll do a great job.
To be well prepared means to be ready.
You've done your work.
You've practiced.
You are well prepared.
Simone then says, OK, they've just announced your name.
Get out there.
Gabriel says, I can't.
Simone responds.
Simone says To pull yourself together and get out.
There is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to calm down, to be able to do something.
It is similar to get a hold of yourself.
You have to calm down and perform, do whatever action you're expected to do.
In this case, for Gabriel, it's to give a speech.
Gabriel ends by saying, Here goes nothing.
Here goes nothing is a phrase used to show that you are going to try to do something but you don't think you are going to be successful.
When I was in college.
Every time I would ask a girl out on a date, I would say to myself Here goes nothing.
I tried, but...
It usually wasn't successful.
Gabriel however, is going to try to give his speech and get a hold of himself, pull himself together so that he can give the speech effectively.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
They're about to introduce you.
You're on next.
Are you ready?
No.
Yes.
No.
You don't look so well.
Are you all right?
I don't know.
My palms are clammy, I'm breaking out into a cold sweat, and my legs feel like jelly.
It sounds like a bad case of stage fright.
That's all.
Just take a deep breath.
You'll be fine.
I have butterflies in my stomach and my mouth is dry.
Where can I get a glass of water?
I don't know, and there isn't time.
Oh, God.
If I go out there, I'm going to freeze up or get tongue-tied.
I just know it.
Get a hold of yourself.
You're well prepared, and you'll do a great job.
Okay, they've just announced your name.
Get out there.
I can't.
The entire audience is waiting for you.
Pull yourself together and get out there.
Here goes nothing.
The script for this episode was written by the well-prepared Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2009 by the Center for Educational Development.
