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 As many as 76% of experienced public speakers feel fearful before

presenting

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 “a type of communication anxiety (or nervousness); the level of fear you

experience when anticipating or actually speaking to an audience”
 Physical symptoms
o Upset stomach (butterflies); flushed skin; sweating; shaking; light-
headedness; rapid or heavy heartbeats; verbal disfluencies
(stuttering and vocalized pauses)

 Emotional symptoms
o Feeling anxious, worried, or upset

 Cognitive symptoms
o Negative self-talk (most common cause of speech apprehension)
 Previous experience and negative reinforcement also found
to be leading causes of speech apprehension
o Previous experience tied to modeling (how friends/family react to
speaking in public)
o Negative reinforcement concerns how others have responded to
your public speaking endeavors

 Three phases of speech anxiety

o Anticipation: level experienced before giving speech
o Confrontation: surge in anxiety as you begin to deliver speech
o Adaptation: anxiety level gradually decreases (about 1 min. in)
 Communication orientation: view speech as opportunity to talk
with people about a topic important to you/audience

 Visualization: develop mental picture of yourself giving a

masterful speech

 Systematic desensitization: gradually visualizing and engaging in

increasingly more frightening speaking events

 Cognitive restructuring: replace anxiety-arousing negative self-

talk with anxiety-reducing positive self-talk

 Public speaking skills training

 Use a conversational tone (talk with them, not at them)

 Sound natural as you speak (spontaneity)

 Be animated (lively and dynamic)

 Use your voice and body effectively

(refer to Chapter 5: Nonverbal Behaviors)
 Impromptu Speeches

 Scripted (or Manuscript) Speeches

 Memorized Speeches

 Extemporaneous Speeches: easiest to give effectively

 Practice, practice, practice (with note cards)

 Presentational aids (if applicable)

o Carefully plan when to use presentational aids
o Consider audience needs carefully
o Share a presentational aid only when talking about it
o Display visual and audio aids so everyone in audience can see/hear
them
o Talk to your audience, not the presentational aid
o Resist temptation to pass objects through audience