3 Managing Speech Anxiety
<A> OBJECTIVES
To understand what makes us anxious about public speaking.
To pinpoint the onset of your anxiety and plan to overcome it.
To use proven strategies to build your confidence.
To use visualization and relaxation techniques to control anxiety.
To enjoy the occasion.
<A> CHAPTER CONTENT OUTLINE
I. Identify what makes you anxious about public speaking
A. Researchers have discovered several reasons people fear public speaking, including
lack of experience, having a previous negative experience, feeling different from
audience members, and an uneasiness with being the attention center.
1. Such factors can lead to the onset of public speaking anxiety (PSA), a
form of social anxiety arising from a real or anticipated speaking
engagement.
B. Lack of positive experience can contribute to high anxiety levels, leading many to
avoid public speaking altogether, when more experience would be a big factor in
overcoming speech anxiety.
C. Feeling different from others, and being overly sensitive to these perceived
differences, such as personal idiosyncrasies, can increase speaking anxiety.
D. Being the center of attention, and feeling conspicuous, can cause a speaker to focus
on the “me,” thereby increasing sensitivity and increasing anxiety.
1. A speaker feeling that his or her anxiety is more noticeable than it is in
actuality, is termed the illusion of transparency.
2. Such self-consciousness can distract speakers from the speech itself.
II. Pinpoint the onset of public speaking anxiety
A. Some people will experience anxiety the moment they learn that they must give a speech.
B. Preparation anxiety occurs when a person begins to prepare a speech. Research indicates
C. Pre-performance anxiety occurs at the point a person realizes that he or she will be giving
a speech—usually during the rehearsal for the speech.
D. Performance anxiety most often affects people at the onset of the speech, usually during
the introduction phase.
E. People with high trait anxiety are likely to feel anxious much of the time, whereas people
with low trait anxiety will experience anxiety only in novel situations.
1. Public speaking engagements tend to induce at least some nervousness
III. Use proven strategies to build your confidence
A. Preparing and practicing builds confidence. Feeling confident that you know your
material and have adequately rehearsed your delivery reduces anxiety while speaking.
2. Once your speech is prepared, you should rehearse it several times.
B. Modify your thoughts and attitudes about public speaking. View public speaking as a
valuable, worthwhile, and challenging activity.
C. Visualization, mentally seeing yourself give a quality speech, is a highly successful
way to reduce nervousness and help you increase positive expectations associated
with speechmaking.
D. Activating the relaxation response by using techniques such as meditation and
controlled breathing before and during a speech gives the speaker a sense of control
lowering your blood pressure, increasing blood flow to major muscles, and reducing
muscle tension.
1. Meditation involves sitting in a quiet place, relaxing the muscles, and
breathing slowly as you repeat a meaningful phrase or prayer.
E. Use movement to minimize anxiety
2. Movement, such as walking behind the podium, helps to relieve the
speaker’s tension and holds the audience’s attention.
F. Enjoy the occasion
1. The speaker should seek pleasure in the occasion. Allowing yourself to
2. Public speaking can be both challenging and exciting, allowing you
G. Learn from feedback
<A> KEY TERMS
public speaking anxiety (PSA) fear or anxiety associated with a speaker’s actual or anticipated
communication to an audience.
preparation anxiety a form of public speaking anxiety (PSA) that arises when the speaker
begins to prepare for a speech, at which point he or she might feel overwhelmed at the amount of
performance anxiety a form of public speaking anxiety (PSA) that occurs the moment a speaker
begins to deliver a speech. See also preparation anxiety.
trait anxiety a person’s general baseline level of anxiety. People with high trait anxiety are
naturally anxious much of the time, whereas people with low trait anxiety will usually
CHAPTER STUDY GUIDE
I. SUMMARY QUESTIONS
What is public speaking anxiety? What different factors can lead to the onset of PSA?
Public speaking anxiety (PSA) is a situation-specific social anxiety that arises from the real or
What can be done to address the three factors that cause public speaking anxiety?
Students who suffer from anxiety because of a lack of positive experience should prepare well
to maximize their chances of success. If it is true, as the saying claims, that nothing succeeds like
When does PSA occur in the speechmaking process?
Public speaking anxiety can occur at different times during the speechmaking process. For some
people, it occurs immediately upon learning that they will give a speech sometime in the future
What strategies does this chapter offer to deal with anxiety at each of these stages?
To address pre-preparation anxiety, students should not allow anxiety to deter them from
planning their speeches. To deal with preparation anxiety, they should beware of avoidance and
How does trait anxiety tend to affect the speechmaking process?
Individuals with high trait anxiety are naturally anxious much of the time. Their nervousness
tends to increase throughout the speech, and they often focus on the negatives after the speech is
What strategies does this chapter offer for gaining confidence as a public speaker?
Gaining confidence as a public speaker comes about primarily through preparation and practice.
Helpful techniques for boosting confidence include (1) preparing and practicing, (2) modifying
II. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Why is public speaking such a source of anxiety for most people?
Public speaking may be a major source of anxiety because of such factors as negative past
experiences with public speaking (or simply a lack of speaking experience), feeling different, and
being the center of attention.
To fuel a discussion on the first factor (no experience or negative experiences), ask students if
they think it produces more anxiety to have no experience or to have negative experiences. Ask
important respect: Everyone is tasked with making a connection with the same group (usually
strangers).
Many people are nervous simply because of the uncertainty or lack of familiarity they feel
regarding the public speaking situation. The fact is, most people are not used to being
Some students may plan to be teachers. Teaching is the ultimate conspicuous career. Do the
future teachers love the spotlight, or do they simply love their subject fields and possess a
burning desire to share their passion? This is a good time to talk about something you will revisit
It has been said that practice makes perfect. How can this adage be applied to gaining
confidence as a public speaker?
Throw this question out to the class, and listen to their opinions. Most of them will probably say
that yes, practice does make perfect. The fact is, as Vince Lombardi said, perfect practice makes
perfect. If we practice without a strong knowledge base, we can actually reinforce bad habits that
are very hard to break. Ask students if they have ever done this or if they are aware of others who
have. Imagine a few friends with no golf training going to the driving range and hitting golf balls
This is a good time to introduce the conscious competence model (not covered in the textbook).
Many have tried to determine who originated this model (or matrix, depending upon how it is
depicted), with no agreement. Some feel it goes back to ancient Greece and Rome, while others
think it was developed in the 1970’s. To describe the model, you can do a web search for
“conscious competence” to find many different diagrams that can be projected on a screen. You
can also draw the model/matrix on a black or white board yourself.
When we get behind the wheel of a car for the first time, however, all kinds of things are visible
that weren’t from the vantage point of a back seat. There are knobs, levers, buttons, lights,
you don’t know. This is what happens when we first stand in front of a room to talk, whether it be
presenting for show and tell or reciting a poem. Things look much different from the front of the
room!
At this point, if we decide to embark on the challenge of learning to drive or to play soccer or to
speak in public, we enter the conscious competence stage. We know how much we don’t know,
and we are learning to perform the skill the right way, but we have to concentrate. We must think
consciously about all the steps we need to go through before we put the car in motion. We have
to concentrate on whether we’ve cleared the car beside us and can pass it and consciously decide
when to turn on the turn signal.
This stage is where most public speaking classes spend their time. Students have many things to
remember. They not only have to recall the content of their speeches, but they have to remember
all of the guidelines for delivery. Often they are manipulating visual aids at the same time.
moved and automatically driven to a place they don’t live any longer.) Every student is at the
unconscious competence stage with many things he or she now takes for granted but once
struggled with (walking, riding a bike, reading, texting, and tying shoes are some examples), and
every student in the class can achieve unconscious public speaking competence with enough
practice.
Everyone has to go through these four steps to learn to complete even the most simple task.
Some may move through them unnaturally quickly, but most people have to move past the
blissful ignorance of the first stage and work through the discomfort of the second and third
How can following the general procedures for planning a speech help a speaker become
more confident?
Students might generate ideas for each of the following guidelines:
Manage your time wisely. Construct a timeline for the preparation of the speech. Assign more
time for the more important or challenging aspects of the preparation.
Discover as much about the audience and the speaking environment as you can. Know the
What strategies or techniques can help you manage your anxiety during the speech?
This discussion should focus on your students’ knowledge of effective delivery techniques.
Discuss the advantages of stress-control breathing, moving around during the speech, utilizing
Do you think you are more or less nervous than most people taking this course?
A student may feel as though he or she is more nervous than anyone else in the class when it
comes to delivering a speech. It is important to communicate that anxiety is “normal” and to be
expected in the public speaking classroom. Chapter 3 of A Speaker’s Guidebook includes
“student voices,” in which previous public speaking students discuss the strategies that they
Have you ever tried visualization, meditation, or stress-control breathing in other contexts?
Were any of these techniques helpful? Why or why not?
Discuss students’ experience with these strategies. Affirmations are also powerful. Do a web
search for “Jessica’s Daily Affirmation.” This is a very brief, light, fun video that shows how
easy it is to incorporate positive self-talk into your life—whether orally or mentally. (You can tell
Students may also use songs to pump themselves up. Ask for some examples of songs they’ve
seen used this way in TV shows and movies or songs they could use for the same reason (We
Will Rock You by Queen; Eye of the Tiger by Survivor; Happy by Pharrell Williams, The Rocky
Theme, Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves).
III. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
QUESTIONS
The following questions may help the instructor illustrate important points in the chapter and
facilitate students’ learning of this material. These questions can be used as:
homework questions
quizzes
What is public speaking anxiety?
PSA is a situation-specific social anxiety that arises from the real or anticipated enactment of an
oral presentation.
What are the roots of public speaking anxiety?
Identify and define the four points during the speechmaking process when people
experience public speaking anxiety.
Pre-preparation anxiety: Fear or anxiety that arises when a speaker anticipates he or she will
have to deliver a speech in the future