Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Discussion Week 3.2: Public Speaking Apprehensiveness
Whenever I have to make a speech I get really nervous, no matter how much or how long I prepare for it. Public speaking, especially in front of an audience, scares me sometimes. I always wonder how people will react to my speech. I am also self conscious about what I say wondering if something I said was weird, awkward, or just didn’t make sense. I also get apprehensive when looking out to the audience. When I am presenting a speech individually all I see when I look at my audience is people staring at me as if every action that I said or did was being watched and critiqued upon. In Chapter 2 of the textbook it talks about the sources of speech anxiety. Surely my anxiety comes from my uncertainty about my speaking abilities, my role as a speaker, my ideas, and also the audience’s response.
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I totally agree with you about being nervous no matter how much or long I prepare for it. I feel that with so much preparation, once I step in front of everyone I'll forget everything I was going to say. I wonder too if people will make comments on what I have to say. I don't want to be judged or be misinterpreted either. Chapter 2 does give good information on ways to cope with speech anxiety. For our first speech, I hope I remember the tips given and use them during my speech in order to fight off anxiety.
ReplyDeleteAfter every speech, I think the biggest thing that we play off of is to see how the audience is reacting, and paying attention to you. I think I tend to judge my own performance based on the applaud and attentiveness of my peers. Go along with what you said about feeling conscious about how you look, I feel awkward about how I even stand in front of an audience sometimes. Going from how I hold my notes, stand and even make eye contact.
ReplyDeleteAs the videos from online say, I think the biggest thing that we need to focus on is to prepare ourselves better for the speech to come. Breathing techniques is probably most effective in overcoming any fear of standing in front of a group and being completely confident in anyone's speech would definitely help.
Hello KiwiMango! I am glad you posted this. Many many people get nervous about speaking in public. I know I certainly do at times. This is completely normal. There are certain things you can do to cut down on your speaking apprehension though. The book covers quite a few things, so take a look at that. But allow me to encourage you - everyone is in the same boat! When you think people are judging you in this class, that is the exact time we are silently cheering for you. :) Try not to worry about the things you say. Prepare well, and while you are speaking focus directly on the message you want to convey to your audience. Focusing on your message versus the insecurities you may be experiencing will help the level of anxiety a bit. :) Good post!
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