Mike Villone: Favorite Workshop

Of all the workshops, the Baruch Voices one was the one I preferred best. It takes a lot for people to get up on the stage and speak. The spotlight is on them. Their audience is unpredictable. Some are loud, obnoxious, and not willing to listen, and other audiences appear to be quite attentive and want to listen to the message coming across. It’s also really embarrassing if you mess up because of all the pressure. All eyes are watching you, and if it isn’t done perfectly, then we as the audience judge. I always liked acting myself. I love talking, and sometimes participate way too much in class. But for some reason, when it comes time to perform something, the knees start to shake. The hands tremble, and the words come out slurred. My head tends to want to be buried in the paper even though I try to force myself to make eye contact. I even took a couple of speech classes. I know how hard and nerve racking it can be. Then there are some people who don’t get nervous on stage, unlike me. The point is that I know the speakers prepare far in advance, and put a lot of time and effort into their performances. I give them this recognition by writing about how fantastic their workshop was.