The Fear Of Giving A Best Man's Speech At My Brother's Wedding

I have recently been asked to be the best man at my brother's wedding and I have to admit that I am very nervous about it. These nerves are purely based upon the fact that I have a phobia of giving a public speech. What should I do? Should I tell him about my fear and phobia in the hope that he will ask someone else or should I attempt to face and overcome my demons? I think that most people would agree that this second option is the best but how many people would actually try and get out of giving this speech?

I am quite sure that most people in this same situation would also be quite nervous but I have more reasons than most to have this fear. This is because I, for reasons which I am unsure of, developed a speech impediment when I was five years of age. Basically I had a stammering problem for the next seventeen years before eventually managing to achieve fluency when I was twenty-two years of age. Even though I no longer have a fear of stammering I am not one for being the centre of attention and the thought of having to talk in front of a large crowd which will include a lot of our family and friends just fills me with dread.

I have been very tempted to admit to my brother about how I feel as I am sure he would understand. He of course is aware just how hard my life was at times due to the stammer/stutter and is unlikely to give me a hard time. I could then attend his wedding in a relaxed manner instead of in a stressed state. At the moment I am actually dreading it.

That attitude is very negative however and I have decided that I am capable of beating this phobia. I was able to overcome the speech impediment which was probably the biggest test I will ever have to face and therefore why should I bottle this latest challenge. If I really believe in my own ability I am confident in my chances of success.

If I decide to not go ahead with giving the best man's speech I will probably not ever forgive myself. The phobia of public speaking will also still be there and is no doubt likely to cause me stress in the future. Why wait, I am going to find a way to sort this out now, once and for all.

By: blueboy

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