Building Speaking Confidence

Confidence in Speaking

Do you have Speech Anxiety?

• Define speaking apprehension

• Do you have high, average or low speaking anxiety levels?

• What are the roots of apprehension?

• Ways to reduce anxiety and increase confidence

• Take McCroskey’s Personal Report of Public Speaking anxiety scale

How Can You Overcome a Fear of Public Speaking?

1. Understand What Is Happening?

2. Face Your Fear Head On

3. Learn Techniques That Work for You

4. Practice, Practice, Practice

1. Understand What Is Happening?

• Communication apprehension - the fears one may have when engaging in a communicative interaction with one or more persons

• Speech anxiety - the uneasiness and fearfulness you might feel when preparing or giving a speech

• The feelings you might have about giving a speech can be very similar to the nervousness you feel the first time you talk to someone you are attracted to. Either of these fears can be so intense that you avoid the situation, and they can manifest into physical distress such as sweaty hands or shaky knees.

• When you fear something, no matter what it is, your body enters into the fight-or-flight response, which releases hormones to help you either fight or flee the thing causing you anxiety.

• Your body reacts

Roots of Apprehension

• Communibiological theory - states that speech anxiety is inborn and we are just more introverted or extroverted by nature.

• Reasons for speech anxiety:

  • Lack of experience

  • Negative experience (self-esteem)

  • Negative self-talk and inaccurate perceptions: https://dynamic.wakingup.com/player/dfdb46

  • Fear of failure

  • Lack of preparation

  • Unfamiliar surroundings

2. Face Your Fear Head On

List of Negative Self-Talk

• “How am I gonna remember all this information?” → “Just write it down on a notecard and practice.”

• “There’s no way…” → “You got this.”

• “I’m gonna mess up…” → “No you won’t.”

• “I hope I don’t stutter.” → “If you do, just take a deep breath and keep going.”

• “Why weren’t they surprised when they heard my anecdote?” → “Change the tone in your voice.”

• “Hopefully they don’t think I’m weird.” → “I’m overthinking and I’m gonna be fine.”

Common Anxiety Symptoms

• Tight throat, producing a high pitch

• Dry mouth

• Shaky hands or legs

• Nausea

• Perception

• Skin changes (being pale or having red patches)

• Cold, clammy, or sweaty hands

• Cold nose or ears

• Fast pulse and breathing rate

• Trembling lips

• Avoiding eye contact

• Adding vocal pauses and fillers (“ah,” “um,” “like,” “you know)

• Multiple trips to the restroom

• Memory issues or inability to concentrate

• Overwhelming feeling of anxiousness

• Any inward or outward physical response that isn’t normal for you

• You might experience one or more of these symptoms when you begin to prepare the speech, just before the speech event, during the speech, and even after a speech. You can turn any of these symptoms into a positive reaction if you realize what your body and mind are trying to tell you. Preparing a solid speech, being familiar with the speaking environment, and practicing more will often help reduce your anxiety. Learn to control the situation rather than letting your anxiety control you.

2. Face Your Fear Head On cont.

• One of the first steps to controlling your anxiety is identifying the underlying reason why you are anxious. The most common causes of speech anxiety for many beginning speakers are:

• Lack of public speaking experience

  • Negative public speaking experience in the past

  • Fear of looking “stupid” or failing in front of peers

  • Fear that the audience will laugh

  • Fear of being the center of attention

  • Fear of forgetting everything

  • A belief that no one else feels like this

  • Fear of speaking and using presentational equipment at the same time

  • Fear of not being like the rest of the audience (especially true for returning students and non-active students)

  • Fear of failing the class based on speech performance

• Often, just naming what we are afraid of will help us see how unfounded our fears might be. However, there are techniques you can use to minimize the influence of your anxiety. Throughout this book, “Confidence Booster” boxes (such as the one on page 13) offer insights that may help you respond to your physical and psychological reactions. Note that they are labeled “Confidence Booster,” not “Anxiety Eliminator.” A certain amount of intense reaction energizes you and prepares you for the event.

Ways to Manage Speech Apprehension and Increase Confidence

1. Communication Orientation Motivation theory

2. Cognitive restructuring replacing negative self-talk with positive

3. Neutral self-talk

4. How Neutral Self-Talk Can Radically Change Your Life - The Edge (elonedge.com/blog/2020/9/17/how-neutral-self-talk-can-radically-change-your-life)

5. Examples: “I’ll figure it out.” “I need to ask for help when I’m stuck.” “I need to speak up for myself.”

6. Visualization

7. Systematic desensitization

8. Power posing (before evaluative situation)

9. Rehearse/Practice to be extemporaneous not memorized (at least 3 times)

10. Meditation, breathing for 2 minutes: https://youtu.be/cEqZthCaMpo

11. Tapping: https://youtu.be/75PUjUsGsQQ

12. Be conversational, warm-up voice, and visit with others before speaking

13. Don’t try to be perfect - just be yourself, your professional self

14. Go take a walk. See Nilofer Merchant’s Ted Talk

GO TAKE A WALK! BY NILOFER MERCHANT (TED.COM)

• Get comfortable speaking with others

• “Whether you like it or not, get very comfortable in public speaking. That’s an asset that will last you 50-60 years and a liability if you don’t like doing it… and it’s a necessary skill.” - Warren Buffett

• https://youtu.be/hHBRIzhbQ10