|
Managing
Public Speaking Anxiety
Public speaking anxiety is very common even among
experienced speakers. Many people use their nervousness for energy
and enthusiasm during the presentation. However, for some people the
anxiety becomes so intense that it interferes with the ability to perform
at all. This may lead to avoiding certain courses or even majors
where oral presentations are required, as well as never speaking in class,
or deciding against certain careers that would require oral presentations.
It can hold you back from reaching your true potential!
In addition to the emotional aspects of public speaking anxiety, there
are often physical symptoms as well. These are symptoms that are
associated with anxiety, and include trembling or shaking, cold clammy
hands, shaky voice, rapid heartbeat, sweating, blushing, dizziness,
shortness of breath, digestive discomfort, or forgetting something you know
or were about to say.
The more you avoid public speaking the more it reinforces the
fear. The good news is that if you are experiencing public speaking
anxiety there is a lot you can do to make things better.
·
Dealing with the physical symptoms of public
speaking anxiety is important *Here are some websites that are helpful for relaxing
your body*
http://www.uccs.umn.edu/oldsite/lasc/handouts/generalrelax.html
http://www.lessons4living.com/how.htm
http://www.mindtools.com/stress/RelaxationTechniques/PhysicalTechniques.htm
You need to accept the fact that some amount of anxiety is normal and
turn those nerves into energy and enthusiasm when you present. Most
public speaking anxiety comes from fear and is reinforced with the thought
that something bad is going to happen. To help manage your public
speaking anxiety you need to become aware of these fear provoking
thoughts. This can sometimes be challenging for people, as well
people often believe their thoughts to be true without testing them
out. Pay attention to your internal dialogue when you think about
doing a presentation, it can be helpful to write down what your thoughts
are. Common fear provoking thoughts that people have when they are
fearful of public speaking are; doing a poor job, forgetting what they have
to say, people seeing that they are nervous, sounding stupid, not being
able to answer questions. The common thread is fear of failing.
Self talk is usually so subtle that you don’t notice it until it
is affecting your thoughts and then how you feel, that is why it is so
important to make an effort to acknowledge your thoughts. Your
anxiety provoking thoughts are most often irrational but to you they seem
to make perfect sense, therefore you need to challenge these thoughts.
Techniques for
challenging your thoughts:
·
Examine the evidence that it is true?
What evidence is there that the thought is untrue? If this was true
in the past has it been true every time? Example: “I am going to freeze up
there and forget the material”
Look at if this has actually happened before,
what did you do if you did freeze up, what can you do if you freeze
up? If you are well prepared and have a guide then if you do freeze
up you can refer to your notes to get you back on track.
·
Think about what you would tell a friend if
they came to you and were nervous about public speaking. Often people
are much easier on their friends then on themselves.
·
What is the “Worst Case
Scenario”? What is the likelihood that this will happen? Then
brainstorm all of the solutions to the problem.
·
Look at the whole picture: You are not
expected to know more than your professor, and if you are well prepared and
knowledgeable about your topic, you will be the expert among the other
students
For more information on Public
Speaking Anxiety please see the following websites:
http://www.roch.edu/dept/spchcom/anxiety_handout.htm
http://www.uwstout.edu/counsel/selfhelp/speechanxiety.html
http://www.campusblues.com/pub_speak.asp
|
