How to get the courage to speak up in class?

When I have to talk about a subject, whether it is a job interview, or a meeting with a teacher or boss, or I have to give a presentation, or participate in a group discussion, I type all my major speaking points IN COMPLETE SENTENCES and then practice saying them out loud. Sometimes, I realize that what I wrote sounds great on paper, but it's not the way I feel comfortable talking, so then I go and re-write it and practice again.

Because discussions and interviews and such are dynamic (that is, your cannot predict what other people will say), you can't always get in everything you want to say, or there is not always a good opportunity, but I find that if I have three or four really good ways to say exactly what I want to say, then I am more motivated to share those things.

As far as nervousness, you can do a couple of things to help with that. Most importantly, breathe. Take slow easy breaths. Next smile. Third, when practicing, look for places where you can put in pauses, OR. Stop. For. Dramatic. Effect. Pick out certain words you want to emphasize. This will help keep you from rushing. Fourth. If you are standing, plant your feet, especially for the first part if you have a long speech. Pay attention to your hands; use them to emphasize your words.

I went through school believing I was the shyest kid on the planet. Since then I have given hundreds of presentations (but I STILL get nervous). It won't help with your class tomorrow, but one thing that helped me was to get involved in theatre (you don't have to start with acting; get involved with helping on set so you can watch the direct give tips to the actors).. You could also take debate or speech. That would also help develop speaking skills.

The best advice I ever got was to pretend like you know what you are doing, and people will believe you. And if we pretend enough, we eventually become what we pretend to be.

Do a few little exercises before class to get the nervous tension out. Say la-la-la slowly & calmly. Tell yourself positives, like, "I'm prepared. I'll do fine."

It can be scary. It needs getting used to by speaking up more frequently. You will ace it cause you have all the prep you need.