There is a song that appropriately fits every situation. Just like no graduation is complete without Green Day’s “Good Riddance” and no party is complete without R. Kelly’s “Ignition Remix;” no one should give a speech without listening to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.”
Most majors require some sort of public speaking class, and almost everybody will give a presentation in front of their peers at some point in their life. Despite being a normal life occurrence, public speaking is one of the most feared activities. The anxiety spawns from a fear of failure and rejection, and this can cripple anyone into giving a poor speech. Eminem perfectly paints the dread of public failure in “Lose Yourself,” but then gives the inspiration to overcome ones fears.
Everyone knows the situation: you prepare a speech, you get nervous, you give your speech, but then you are relieved because the speech was not that bad. Now that the speech is over with though, you feel that if you were less nervous in the beginning you could have delivered the speech better. Eminem gives an accurate representation of the nervousness leading up to the speech, but shows you a different outcome. For example: in class, the teacher assigned a 10-minute persuasive speech, where you have to persuade your fellow classmates to agree with you opinion.
The day has come for your speech, and even with your preparation, you are nervous. It is about time for your speech, are you are running through your lines. This is when you start psyching yourself out, because you realize you really need to get a good grade on this speech. “You only get one shot,” at this speech and you question whether you are “going to capture or let it slip.” You try to calm yourself down and focus your thoughts as you walk up to the podium. Now “you are forgetting what you wrote down,” and as the teacher looks at you to begin your speech, “the words won’t come out, [and] you are choking now.” The anxiety is building to where all you are focusing on is on whether people notice your nervousness.
For most people, this is where most people turn on auto-pilot. They have stopped thinking about delivering a good speech, and are now just trying to get through the speech without ridicule. Eminem provides a different path for the uneasy. He suggests after the initial jitters, you just need to settle in and “lose yourself in the moment.” This is when the tone of the song changes, and so should your approach to the speech.
For Eminem, he needs to be the best free-style rapper to become somebody and leave the slums of Detroit, and for you, a good speech will get you a good grade. Eminem encourages you to realize all of the barriers stopping you from having a good speech were created by you. He wants you to make “success your only option, [and] failure not.” Your mindset should be that the only acceptable outcome is for you to succeed. Breaking down these barriers means “you can do anything you set your mind to.”
Eminem’s anti-anxiety anthem is the most relatable and inspiring song for conquering one’s fears. Apprehension is natural when one has to give a speech. The greatest orators of all time got nervous before speeches, but most will say it is a good thing. The anxiety acts to make one sharper. So the key to pre-speech jitters is controlling them, and not allowing them to control you. If you start freaking out about your next speech, just give “Lose Yourself” a listen, and know you are going to succeed.
