How Anxious Are You About Public Speaking? Research Paper Example

There are really several consistent themes in the PRCA – the first one is dedicated to the emotions people have before the presentation, in the process of its preparation, and the second part of questions refers to the feelings in the process of presentation. However, the questions cannot reveal the measure of fear adequately because they are concentrated only on negative parts of public speaking, so up to the end of the test a person starts getting nervous in reality. There should be some more distracting questions that would let the person relax and give more credible answers. My personal score is 101, but I cannot say that I avoid public speaking or feel bad about it. It is normal that people worry before the presentation; the most significant factor that can help evaluate the success of speaking is whether people can master their emotions and perform successfully.

There are various reasons for being nervous before the presentation, including the internal feeling of self-doubt or low self-esteem. At times negative attitudes towards public speaking are formed on the basis of unconscious phobias, which is much harder to overcome. It is also reasonable to suppose that fear of public speaking often comes from the initial perception of the audience as a hostile entity of people. It often happens that speakers perform greatly before the accustomed public and then lose their public speaking abilities as soon as the audience becomes larger and unknown, unpredictable.

In the discussion of methods to reduce tension before and during speaking Adler and Elmhorst paid separate attention to simple guidelines to reduce the tension and successfully overcome the panic overwhelming the speaker:

• Walking and stretching before the presentation will help in reduction of the psychical tension of the speaker
• Keeping to the familiar perspective during the speech is likely to reduce awkward situations – one should know that he is more knowledgeable as a speaker than the audience is
• Clothes should be thoroughly chosen to eliminate awkwardness on the platform; they should be well-known and comfortable (Adler and Elmhorst 423).

Treating new audience is discussed in the work of Booher (21) who shares a piece of advice for the shy speakers – to never assume that the audience is hostile and to make only optimistic assumptions in this respect (especially taking into consideration that it usually is really so).

Works Cited

Adler, Ronald, and Jeanne Marquardt Elmhorst. Communicating at Work: Principles and Practices for Business and the Professions. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2006.

Booher, Dianna. Speak with confidence: powerful presentations that inform, inspire, and persuade. Booher Consultants, Inc., 2002.