[HPFGU-OTChatter] Being boring; public speaking

[Zorb17 at aol.com]

Aberforth's Goat (a.k.a Mike Gray) wrote:
>BTW, I'm curious: is the kind of person who hangs out on this
>kind of list typically good at acting and public speaking but
>rather shy in direct personal conversation??

Oh yes.  Extremely shy.  Actually, I used to be a lot worse.  That changed when I really got into acting in high school.  I've always been at home onstage; when you're acting, you're *a character*, and it's easier to do things you wouldn't normally do.  My theatre involvement helped bring me out of my shell a little, but I'm still shy and nervous in small groups when I don't know the people very well.  I always feel like I'm intruding and unwanted.  I'm much more comfortable on the Internet; here, you don't have to respond if you don't want to, and you can find people who you know have common ground with you.  In fact, I believe that my Internet involvement contributed to the lessening of my real life shyness, as well.


Zorb