Analysis of Speech Anxiety - Essay Example

Full topic and Section # of Speech Anxiety As my was called, my heart began pumping blood into my ears and my head was so numb I couldn't even feel if I had legs or not. Speaking in front of my class was the least of my worries at that point. My first concern was how should I get up to go to the stage Because my brain wasn't in a situation to give my body any commands. Does this situation strike a bell I sure it does. Although it sounds like the sky is going to fall to your head and you will be reduced to mere dust, the problem isn't so big. You have got a bad case of stage fright, or speech anxiety in scientific terms. This situation presents into our life whenever we are going to speak to an unknown group of people and whom are important to your reputation in that particular field of your life. It is actually a very natural feeling to get a little uncomfortable while trying to make a point in front of strangers, but it's very common to faint with apparent shyness as well. In this paper, we'll look into how this behavior develops in humans and how can we overcome it in relatively easy ways. Stress Stress is the only cause of this undesired behavior. It basically shows that you care about what you are doing. Actually, you should get butterflies in your stomach when you do public speaking or presentations for the first time in your life. Because this shows that you are taking your work seriously. There are three types of stress. (Dwyer, 2004) Baseline Stress This is the type of stress that you are continuously facing in your life, whether you are actually doing something or just relaxing. Consider it as the constant variable in an equation. It can be modified though, with biofeedback, good change in sleeping patterns and eating healthy food to manage your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Critical stress This is a part of baseline stress. However, it differs from baseline stress when you take on stress beyond a fixed level which then starts to affect your performance negatively. Trait and State Anxiety Trait anxiety, as the name suggests, it genetically acquired. So, your reaction to stressful situations will depend on how your parents react to similar situations, as you have inherited these characteristics from them. State anxiety is when you are assigned a task which you perceive negatively. For example, you are given a math assignment, a subject which you hate. This will take the form of baseline stress in the back of your head and as the deadline approaches, your anxiety increases as you know you cannot prolong the delay anymore. Causes of Speech Anxiety Audience The audience plays a key role in our speech anxiety. This is because our peers tend to judge our intelligence by our articulation. So, we become tensed because we don't want them to perceive us as unintelligent, or even as just average. Generally, novice public speakers are comfortable in front of a small audience. Especially if this small audience is in sync with the speaker's academic or professional level and most of them are your peers or relatives. (Zimbardo, 1990) Subject or Content of Presentation Everyone has their interests in particular subjects. Therefore, the more you can relate to or the more you are familiar with the subject content, then it follows that the more at ease you will be with giving a presentation on it. This is why, whenever you are given a choice to select a subject on your own, always select one which you love discussing with your mates. No matter how much you know the subject, you must always practice it and fully research the topic so that there no loop holes which the teacher can find in your content of presentation. Another thing to be very careful about is the audience. Make sure that you know beforehand who you will be presenting to. This will help you get the right frequency of your presentation. You must be in sync with the knowledge and understanding of your audience otherwise they will be bored or won't understand a word and all your efforts will be wasted. (Zimbardo, 1990) Speaker As weird as it may sound, the audience wants you to make mistakes and be spontaneous. This is because the audience wants to feel that you are human too. But this does not mean that you keep on stumbling and forgetting what you are supposed to say. The point is, that you should never go up to the stage and start speaking in a continuous rote learned tone and come down when it's done. You are supposed to pause at times and give the audience a chance to digest what you have delivered to them the audience also loves a person who involves them in their presentation. Popping a surprise question to any audience member provokes a response from them and you also know where you stand on the communication front with the audience. This way you can continuously adjust your frequency and deliver an outstanding presentation. (Zimbardo, 1990) Coping Speech Anxiety Controlling Physical Characteristics Attire Dressing properly and in sync with the task is very important. It gives you a feeling of confidence and makes you relies in many situations that what you are about to do is not as difficult as you have been making it inside your head. Wearing white so that you aren't afraid of the sweat is one thing that Karlgaard (2007) suggests. Biofeedback Exercising lightly to relieve your muscles helps in calming you down. Controlling involuntary reflexes such as sweating and trembling of the hands is possible by deep breathing and taking your mind away from the "what if's" Controlling Emotional Characteristics Preparation As said earlier, you should always do a demo in your room of in front of your family the night before your presentation. This helps you find any weak links in your work and gives you a chance to manage your time more accurately. Revision While sitting and waiting for your turn to arrive, quietly run the major points through your head like how you are going to start your presentation and what is the best way to get the audience interested in you. Confronting Anxieties This is the most important factor to control on your whole process. It's the "what if's" mentioned earlier. What if the electricity goes away during my presentation What if a trip on the carpet and fall flat on my face during my speech What if I forget my next point I had to present What if It is found that no matter how good a person is at giving a presentation, whenever something out of plan happens, they tend to have a complete breakdown and are not able to regain composure after that consequently ruining their whole presentation. The simple solution is to have a backup. Have a flash card in front of you and glance at it whenever you feel like. If there is an electricity breakdown, pop a light joke about the situation to make the audience feel relaxed in the situation. If for instance you fall on the floor due to any reason, instead of breaking down, comment on the situation by saying something flattering to the audience like "Excuse me, I think the magnificent aura of the audience dazzled me for a moment". This will help in the audience forgetting your mistake and make them see you in a good light. Breathe Deeply and Relax The best way to start of a speech and ward off the initial hesitations is to breathe deeply, drink a glass of water and try to relax a bit. Gordon Atkinson (2007) being a pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in San Antonio found out that trying to relax, avoiding looking at anyone in the pews while he talked and telling himself that it would be telling over soon helped get over the initial shocks. Believe in your Creator For the religious minded this quote "Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9) may play a vital role in calming one nerves and giving confidence in the most dismal times. Bible tells us not to worry since ones focus shifts and people tend to lose sight of who they belong to (Matthew 6). Therefore the Bible tells us to pray for all things since god is the only one who can help in solving our problems. (Philippians 4:6, 7) 'Sim Speech' Speaking to the mirror may have had been a good speaking practice but technology has given the speaker a tool of creating a virtual public settings in front of which a speaker can practice her/her speech. The audience can be programmed to be excited, bored or anxious etc to give a realistic feeling of how to respond to certain situations. (Berg, 2007) Conclusion Speech anxiety is a naturally occurring behavior. Anyone who gets panicked and tensed easily without trying to control themselves is vulnerable to this sort of behavior. But, there are many ways in which this behavior can be modified and controlled to your own advantage. Practicing these ways can take a little getting used to, but they become second nature to a person soon enough. Works Cited 1. Karen Kangas Dwyer (2004) Conquer Your Speech Anxiety. Thomson Wadsworth 2. Philip G Zimbardo (1990) Shyness: What It Is, What to Do about It. The Perseus Books Group 3. Karen E.Hamilton (2005) Coping With Speech Anxiety. Retrieved April 5, 2008 from website http://webhome.idirect.com/kehamilt/spkanxiety.html 4. Berg, Joel (2007). SimSpeech: Virtual Audiences Help Candidates Hone Speaking Skills. Campaigns & Elections. Academic Search Premier. Sep 2007, Vol. 28, Issue 9. p52-52, 2/3p 5. Karlgaard, Rich. (2007) How to Give Great Speeches. Forbes. Academic Search Premier. Dec 2007 Vol. 180 Issue 12, p37-37, 3/4p, 1c 6. Atkinson, Gordon (2007). Stage Fright. Christian Century; Academic Search Premier. June 2007, Vol. 124 Issue 5, p11-11, 3/4p 7. Thacker, Kit (2007). Expert's View Speaking in Public. Personnel Today; 2/6/2007, p31-31, 1/5p, 1c Read More