Public Speaking Series, #11: Speech Anxiety
I do not talk very much in class about speech anxiety for two reasons. First, there are other resources I can point you to. (See Public Speaking Series #12, upcoming). Secondly, it's like swimming: “Just do it,” as the Nike commercial says. Each time you succeed at something fearful, you have faced your fears and started to conquer them. But I do have a few pointers.
A. You never look as nervous to others as you feel inside.
B. If you focus on your message and motivation, a great deal of the fear will be displaced. It’s not about you, it’s about the message and the purpose and the audience.
C. Think about why you are nervous. What are you afraid of, really? For most people, it is fear of failure and/or fear of rejection. At least in this class, you don’t have to worry about the second. We’re all in this together, and I go to great lengths to make sure the class is attentive during the speech rather than distracting, and supportive rather than adversarial. However, I do recognize first that you may have had a traumatic experience where you were in front of an audience and it went horribly wrong, such as being embarrassed or humiliated by a teacher or leader. If so, all I can say is, that was then, this is now. We are not those people and this is not that situation. Also, if your fear of communicating in new situations is just irrational and life-controlling, you should probably see a physician or mental health care professional because you may have an anxiety disorder.
D. There are exercises and techniques you can do beforehand to ease the stress. One is stretching and tightening your arms and legs for ten seconds and letting them relax; also yawning will loosen your throat. Walking around is good. Be sure as well to eat correctly before a speech. No milk, but not a lot of sugar
and caffeine either. Protein, whole wheat bread, foods that will not shoot your blood sugar up and set you up for a crash—all of these are good for public speaking.
A. You never look as nervous to others as you feel inside.
B. If you focus on your message and motivation, a great deal of the fear will be displaced. It’s not about you, it’s about the message and the purpose and the audience.
C. Think about why you are nervous. What are you afraid of, really? For most people, it is fear of failure and/or fear of rejection. At least in this class, you don’t have to worry about the second. We’re all in this together, and I go to great lengths to make sure the class is attentive during the speech rather than distracting, and supportive rather than adversarial. However, I do recognize first that you may have had a traumatic experience where you were in front of an audience and it went horribly wrong, such as being embarrassed or humiliated by a teacher or leader. If so, all I can say is, that was then, this is now. We are not those people and this is not that situation. Also, if your fear of communicating in new situations is just irrational and life-controlling, you should probably see a physician or mental health care professional because you may have an anxiety disorder.
D. There are exercises and techniques you can do beforehand to ease the stress. One is stretching and tightening your arms and legs for ten seconds and letting them relax; also yawning will loosen your throat. Walking around is good. Be sure as well to eat correctly before a speech. No milk, but not a lot of sugar
and caffeine either. Protein, whole wheat bread, foods that will not shoot your blood sugar up and set you up for a crash—all of these are good for public speaking.
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