10 Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Class Participation

When I was younger, I would never raise my hand to participate in class because I was afraid. I was also terrified every time I was forced to speak. So, I did some research and figured out how to overcome the fear of class participation. So what are 10 ways to overcome the fear of class participation?

1. Build up the courage to participate in class once a day
2. Get to know your teacher
3. Make friends with everyone in your classes
4. Stop caring about other people’s opinions
5. Think about the benefits of class participation
6. Improve your public speaking skills
7. Get yourself in a comfortable and relaxed state of mind
8. Aim to be the smartest person in the room
9. Sit at the front of your class
10. Work on your social skills

Now, let’s talk about each of these methods in more detail. Some of them may work better for you than others, so be sure to give them all a try!

1. Build up the courage to participate in class once a day

Like many fears, the best way to overcome them is by facing them head-on. If you can build up the courage to participate in class once a day, it’ll eventually be easy for you! Participate in simple ways such as:

• Talking to your classmates or teachers
• Reading a short paragraph
• Answering a question you know the answer to

The last bullet on the list is a great option. Because you already know the answers to the questions, it’s the best time to raise your hand! The hard part is building up enough courage to raise your hand. Everything after that is easy; the next time you know the answer to a question, try putting your hand up without even thinking about it!

2. Get to know your teacher

A reason you could be afraid of class participation is a lack of communication with your teacher. The more you get to know your teacher, the easier it will be to overcome your fear of speaking in class. Think of your teacher as a tutor instead of an authority figure.

Sure, your teachers may run the classrooms, but you shouldn’t be afraid of them. They’re there to help you learn. Here are some ways to get to know your teacher:

1. Have a small conversation before the start of class. Your teachers should be in class before the period starts. This is a great time to have a small conversation with them. You can ask how their weekend was, if they have kids, or how they got into teaching. Be genuinely curious about your questions!
2. Ask simple questions in class. Rather than trying to share your thoughts or answer questions in class, ask your teachers simple questions like, “Can you check if I solved this question right?” or “Is there another way to solve that?” This is a great way for your teacher to get to know you as well.
3. Visit your teachers during their office hours. Every teacher should give you their office hours. Take advantage of these hours to get to know your teachers. Feel free to get personal and talk about your fear of class participation. Your teachers will most likely help you deal with this during class.

3. Make friends with everyone in your classes

If you’re like most people, you’re comfortable around your friends. They’re easy to talk to, and you can make fun of each other without anyone feeling hurt. This is why you should make friends with everyone in your classes, or at least most people.

Once you have a group of friends in your classes, speaking out loud won’t feel so scary. You won’t care whether you said something “dumb” or not because you’re around your friends. You’re surrounded by people you’re comfortable with, and that’s what matters. They won’t care if you got the wrong answer, and neither will you when they get the wrong answer.

4. Stop caring about other people’s opinions

When you’re at school, remember that you’re a student surrounded in an environment by other students. Nobody in your classes or at your school is better than you. Everyone including yourself is just trying to learn and graduate from school.

Knowing this, you shouldn’t care about other people’s opinions. The only opinions you should care about are from people who can help make you successful. Notice how I didn’t say loved ones. Sometimes the people we love don’t understand what we’re going through and what we’re trying to achieve. Therefore, their opinions may be insignificant.

The last opinions you should ever care about are your peers, even if they’re your friends. In most cases, your peers won’t stick around in your life for long. By the time you’re 25 and graduated from university or college, your social circle is going to a lot smaller than it is now. I know it can be hard to not care about other people’s opinions, but here are some things you can do:

1. Be humble. If someone shares an unnecessary comment or opinion about you, ignore it. Understand that it’s their opinion and you can’t change that. Move on;
2. Recognize your goals. Since you have a fear of class participation, realize that you’re working hard to overcome that fear. If someone has a rude opinion to share, just smile and say, “I’m working on it.”
3. Turn opinions into constructive criticism. The next time you receive someone’s rude opinion of you, use it as constructive criticism. Evaluate if what they said is true or not, and if it is, work on improving yourself instead of taking it offensively.

5. Think about the benefits of class participation

One of the best ways to overcome your fear of class participation is by thinking about the benefits. There are infinitely more benefits than cons to participating in class. Let me list some of them for you:

Benefits

• If you have a question, you’ll actually receive an answer to what you don’t know.
• Your teachers will share their insights with whatever you said in class. This can help you answer some questions on your next test.
• You can receive bonus marks for participating in class.
• You’ll improve your communication and other social skills.
• Your teacher will acknowledge the fact that you’re trying to learn.
• Your peers may feel thankful that you’re raising your hand as opposed to them.

Cons

• You might get laughed at by the random student who never pays attention in class.

I’m not trying to be biased, but I honestly can’t think of any negatives/cons to participating in class. The only con I was able to come up with is completely useless, but unfortunately, it’s what most students are afraid of.

There are serious benefits to class participation. Not only is it good for you, but it’s also good for the entire classroom. The more students participate in class, the better the environment will be. Imagine a classroom that’s full of students who love to share their thoughts and opinions in class (in a good way). That would be an incredible environment to be in. Students will fill in other students on what they don’t know.

6. Improve your public speaking skills

The more you improve your public speaking skills, the easier it will be to overcome your fear of class participation. Without a doubt, clear and concise language from an enthusiastic and confident speaker is powerful. Have you ever heard someone talk and just go, “Wow.”

At times, you might not even understand what they’re talking about. Their words just sound meaningful because they’re coming from an amazing speaker. You can have the same effect on others if you become a better public speaker.

Not only will you amaze your peers, but you’ll also have confidence in yourself to talk in front of others. Here are some public speaking skills you should aim to improve.

• Pronunciation. Work on pronouncing every word you say correctly. You can use Google Translate to help you with this.
• Voice control. Work on speaking at the right volume depending on how far you are from your audience. Focus on using the right pitch and tone that’s appropriate for what you’re saying.
• Body language. Focus on your posture when you speak. Make sure to stand upright and look relaxed. Practice using your facial expressions and hand gestures as a tool to deliver your messages.
• Delivery. Rather than saying everything that comes to your mind in a rushed manner, take your time to put together meaningful sentences. Speak slowly and take a short pause after you cover an idea or point.
• Eye contact. If you’re afraid of participating in class, you probably don’t give a lot of eye contact. Work on giving more eye contact than you do now, even if it feels awkward. Don’t stare, but don’t look at the ground either.

You won’t be a great public speaker overnight. You need to constantly work on these skills if you really want to improve them. Take your time with it! The best people to practice your public speaking skills on are your close friends and family.

7. Get yourself in a comfortable and relaxed state of mind

Many students are afraid of class participation because they think too much of it! When they raise their hands to speak, they believe everyone is going to laugh and make fun of them if they say something wrong. The truth is, most people in your class don’t care!

You’re not doing something crazy; you’re simply raising your hand to speak or respond to your teacher. Think about how often students participate in class. It happens dozens of times every class, so why is it any different now?

Nobody is going to be fixated on what you have to say unless you’re talking about something serious. In most cases, you need to relax and stop thinking about unnecessary things. Make yourself comfortable and just try to have fun in class. If you give a wrong answer, ask your teacher for the right answer and move on. Don’t sit there and analyze what other students in the room are thinking, it won’t do you any favors.

8. Aim to be the smartest person in the room

Aiming to be the smartest person in the room isn’t arrogant. It’s called being competitive; being a competitive person puts you at a great advantage in life. It’s also a great way to overcome your fear of class participation.

If no one in your class is participating, be the one to raise your hand. Show your teacher that you’re taking your education seriously and that you value time in the classroom. It doesn’t matter if you give the wrong answer. You’re demonstrating your intelligence by attempting to figure out what the right answer is.

Let me give you an example.

Let’s say your teacher just explained how to use a math formula to solve an equation. You hear a bunch of students around you whispering about how they don’t understand what your teacher just said, and you don’t either. Your teacher turns around and asks the class if everyone gets it, but you know there’s a lot of students including yourself that don’t. As you look around, nobody is raising their hands.

You decide to be the smartest student in the room by actually raising your hand to let your teacher know you don’t understand how to use the formula. However, because you raised your hand, you get to ask questions that’ll help you out specifically. If your question wasn’t what other students were struggling with, they will still be stuck on how to use the math formula.

This is an everyday scenario that happens in the classroom.

9. Sit at the front of your class

Another way to help overcome your fear of class participation is sitting at the front of your class. When you’re physically closer to your teacher, it feels easier to speak out loud. You have fewer eyes on you, and you don’t have to speak loudly (assuming your teacher doesn’t ask you to repeat what you said to the whole class).

When you’re sitting in the front row, the classroom feels like it’s a lot smaller than it really is. It almost feels like a private lesson! This will make it a lot easier for you to raise your hand. Keep in mind that when you sit near the teacher, you’ll make a lot of eye contact during class.

You might even feel obligated to raise your hand whenever your teacher asks a question. This is a good feeling as it encourages you to participate in class more often.

10. Work on your social skills

This goes together with improving your public speaking skills (method six). The more you improve your social skills, the less social anxiety you’ll have participating in class. Social skills help you communicate and get along with others.

Therefore, the better your social skills are, the more comfortable you’ll be in class. You’ll be less afraid of talking in front of others. Here are some social skills you should work on to overcome your fear of class participation:

1. Active listening and communication. Learn to pay close attention to what others say. Show interest and give feedback as necessary. This will help you make relatable conversations with other students and teachers.
2. Empathy. Understanding how other people are feeling is a great skill to have. Being empathetic will make you more likable. It’ll also help you get along with others in the classroom.
3. Problem-solving. If you become a good problem solver, you’ll be able to think quick on your feet and get yourself out of any bad or embarrassing situation. You’ll turn to logic as opposed to your emotions.
4. Getting along with others. I know there are students who don’t like to be around others. Unfortunately, that could be a big reason why you’re afraid of participating in class. Learn to get along with others to help you overcome your fear of class participation.

Conclusion

I know how scary it can be to participate in class. You just need to stop overthinking and do what’s best for you. Remember, you’re not going to school to impress others, so don’t worry about being made fun of.

Give these methods a try and let me know how they go by leaving a comment down below. I’d love to hear your story.

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