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CHAPTER TWO
UNDERSTANDING AND REDUCING YOUR APPREHENSION
OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter students should be able to:
2. Be aware of research into stress and communication apprehension;
3. Adopt an eight-point plan for reducing speech apprehension.
researching, organizing, and delivering the speech. Let students experience a brief speech first, such as a 2-3 minute
speech introducing themselves to the class. Then assign this chapter and talk about the apprehension that students
experienced on their first speeches and discuss strategies for overcoming their anxieties.
Additional Skill Builder Exercises
3. Journaling. Ask students to keep a journal of their feelings as they progress through the
speech course. After each major speaking assignment, have them compare what they’ve written
with the previous assignment and determine if there has been any positive change.
4. List of fears. Have students make a list of all the fears they have about giving a speech. Tell
them to take a close look at their “fears list” and then write a counter list of positive ideas that
represent opposites to the fears. Have them put this positive list in the cover of their texts or
notebook and take a look at it before every speech or every time they get ready to develop a
5. Stress-reduction exercises. Have students visit their library website and find several books
that will describe a number of stress-reduction exercises. Have them develop a breathing
exercise, a mental exercise, and a physical exercise that will help them cope with tension before
every speech. Assigning this activity forces students to research and participate in relaxation
exercises.
The following books contain exercises that can be helpful for students.
6. Pairs speech. Divide your class into pairs. Each person in a pair should interview the other to
7. Speech of introduction. Ask students to prepare a 2-minute speech about one of their
8. Win, Lose, or Draw Game. This game is an excellent way of reducing tension in the class. I
like to use speech terms from the text, famous speakers and speeches, and famous speech
quotations as the subject matter. I sometimes devote an entire class period for the game,
depending upon how positively students react. One of the objectives of this exercise is to get
students so involved that they lose their inhibitions and forget they are “performing” in front of
an audience. Many classes become intensely competitive, screaming and shouting like the actors
in a TV show. Not all groups react so favorably, however. Nevertheless, I have found that I
Here are the rules for the game:
a. Divide the class into two equal groups.
b. Have a student from one team draw a term (or phrase) from an envelope.
c. Allow the student 60 seconds to pantomime or draw pictures on the chalkboard
giving the team clues to the subject. Please note: Players can draw pictures or
use gestures to pantomime, but cannot speak.
d. Players can draw the appropriate number of blanks to indicate the number of
words in the term phrase, or sentence.
e. Players can draw an ear to indicate “sounds like.”
f. Players cannot write numbers, letters, or numerals.
g. If team members guess one of the words in the phrase correctly, players can
InfoTrac/Library Database Exercise
Using the appropriate periodical database, ask students to find the article, ”Focus Your Pitch on
Your Audience, Not Yourself” by John R. Graham, Providence Business News, August 27,
2001. After reading the article, students should answer the following questions:
a. What reasons does the author provide as to why some people fear public
speaking and “will do almost anything to avoid doing it?”
b. What 8-point strategy does the author describe for overcoming the fear of
public speaking?
