Controlling Nervousness

1. Controlling Nervousness Chapter 2

2. Introduction • Fear of public speaking, also called communication apprehension, exists on a continuum: • Some people are so nervous that they are unable to function effectively in any communication situation and will try to avoid communication as much as possible. • Other people are so mildly apprehensive that they appear to experience no fear at all; they actively seek out communication opportunities. • Most people are between these extremes.

3. Why We Get Nervous To Speak In Public • Fear of being stared at. • Fear of failure. • Fear of rejection. • Fear of the unknown.

4. Advantages of Fear • Contrary to popular belief, fear is not necessarily harmful. In fact, fear can work for you. It may: • Energize you. • Motivate you to work a little harder—to produce a speech that will be better than it might have been had you not been fearful. • Help you speak with vitality and enthusiasm. • Help you think more rapidly.

5. Guidelines for Controlling Nervousness

6. Planning the Speech • Choose a topic you know about. • Prepare yourself thoroughly. • Never memorize a speech. • Imagine yourself giving an effective speech. • Know that shyness is no barrier. • Shift focus from self to audience • Plan visual aids • Make arrangements • Devote extra practice to the introduction.

7. Choose A Topic That You Know About • Boosts your self-confidence. • Free to improvise because of your extensive knowledge. • Permits you to handle yourself well in the question-and-answer period after the speech.

8. Prepare Yourself Thoroughly • Give yourself plenty of time to gather ideas, create an outline, and prepare speaking notes. • Practice makes perfect! • Run through your entire speech multiple times. A minimum of 4 times is a good rule of thumb.

9. Never Memorize A Speech • What happens if your mind goes blank? • Avoid sounding mechanical, like a robot.

10. Tip • Prepare a card with all basic information—names, dates, phone numbers—and keep the card with your other notes for easy access. • Use a card for any familiar passages, such as the Pledge of Allegiance, that you are supposed to recite or to lead the audience in reciting. • Use only for names, numbers, and wordings that must be recalled with complete accuracy.

11. Imagine Yourself Giving An Effective Speech • First, develop a positive attitude and a positive self-perception. • Visualize yourself in the role of an effective public speaker. • Visualize yourself walking to the front of the room—fully and totally confident, fully in control of the situation. The audience is rapt in attention and, as you finish, bursts into wild applause. • Throughout this visualization, avoid all negative thoughts. • Second, model your performance on that of an especially effective speaker.

12. Know That Shyness Is No Barrier • You can be shy and/or introverted and still be an effective public speaker. • One way to adapt to speaking in public is to gain as much public speaking experience as you can.

13. Shift Focus From Self To Audience • Think of public speaking as another type of conversation. Or, if you are comfortable talking in groups, visualize your audience as a small group. • Engage in positive “self-talk:” • I will give my listeners information that will be very useful in their lives. NOT I will make a total fool out of myself.

14. Plan Visual Aids • Visual aids can help in two ways: • Shifts the audience’s stares from you to your illustrations. • Permits you to get rid of your excess energy as you move to display it. • Visual aids should be understandable, appropriate, and clearly visible to everyone in the room.

15. Make Arrangements • If possible, visit the place where you will speak and identify any problems. (A phone call might do the trick, as well, but you are still relying on someone else’s word.) • Always have a “plan B” with regard to technology.

16. Devote Extra Practice To The Introduction • Nervousness usually wears off after the first few minutes. • As a result, devote a lot of time to practicing your introduction.

17. Immediately Prior to Speech • Verify equipment and materials. • Get acclimated to audience and setting. • Use physical actions to release tension.

18. Verify Equipment and Materials • Arrive early the day of your speech and test all of the equipment.

19. Get Acclimated To Audience And Setting • Greet listeners as they arrive. • Get used to the setting in which you will be giving your speech.

20. Use Physical Actions To Release Tension • Physical activity—including movements of the whole body as well as small movements of the hands, face, and head—lessens apprehension. • Breathe deeply a few times before getting up to speak. • Do exercises that can be performed quietly without calling attention to yourself. • Examples: tighten and then relax your leg muscles; push your arm or hand muscles against a hard object for a few moments, then release the pressure; press the palms of your hands against each other in the same way: tension, release…tension, release.

21. During Speech • Pause a few moments before starting. • Deal rationally with your body’s turmoil. • Think of communication, not performance. • Know that most symptoms are not seen. • Never mention nervousness or apologize. • Don’t let your audience upset you. • Act poised. • Look directly at the audience. • Don’t speak too fast. • Get audience action early in the speech. • Eliminate excess energy. • Accept imperfection. • Welcome Experience.

22. Pause A Few Moments Before Starting • Effective because it: • Builds up the audience’s interest and curiosity; • Makes you look poised and in control; • Calms you; and • Gives you a chance to look at your notes and get your first two or three sentences firmly in mind.

23. Deal Rationally With Your Body’s Turmoil • Use your mind to help your body stay in control. • Figure 2.1, page 32.

24. Think Of Communication, Not Performance • Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you are performing for the listener. • Talk with your audience, not at them. In other words, develop a conversational tone. • Remember that effective speakers are audience-centered.

25. Know That Most Symptoms Are Not Seen • You may think that the audience can hear your heart beat faster. . . They can’t. • You may think that the audience can see your knees tremble. . . They can’t. • You may think that the audience can see your palms sweating. . . They can’t. • You may think that the audience can sense your dry throat. . . They can’t. . . at least not most of the time 

26. Never Mention Nervousness Or Apologize • Seems like a cute way to break the ice, but may be counterproductive: • Might make you even more nervous. • Might cause an otherwise unaware audience to begin scrutinizing your body’s behavior.

27. Don’t Let Your Audience Upset You • Focus on friendly faces. • Don’t jump to conclusions. • Remember that you can’t please everyone.

28. Act Poised • “Fake it until you make it.”

29. Look Directly At The Audience • Good eye contact = “locking” eyes with a listener for a couple of seconds.

30. Tip • Don’t focus on only a few audience members. This may result in the rest of the audience feeling excluded. • If looking in the eyes is too intimidating, try focusing on the foreheads of the audience, empty chairs, or the audience’s noses.

31. Don’t Speak Too Fast • Help guide the audience through your talk by delineating major and minor points carefully. • Speak calmly, patiently, and deliberately.

32. Get Audience Action Early In The Speech • Ask a question. • Take a poll.

33. Eliminate Excess Energy • In addition to using visual aids, you may also try the following tension releasers: • Let your hands make gestures. Let your hands hang by your side or rest on the lectern. They will make gestures naturally. • Walk about. Don’t pace! Deliberate movement is even better.

34. Accept Imperfection • Audience does not care whether your delivery is perfect. • Making a mistake is not the end of the world. • It is okay to pause to regain your composure.

35. Welcome Experience • More practice with public speaking equals more control over your nervousness. • Welcome these experiences as a way to further your personal and professional growth.

36. Tip • Densensitization is also a technique used to deal with fear. The general idea is to create a hierarchy of behaviors leading up to the desired but feared behavior (i.e., speaking before an audience): 5. Giving a speech in class 4. Introducing another speaker to the class 3. Speaking in a group in front of the class 2. Answering a question in class 1. Asking a question in class

37. Tip (continued) • The main objective of this experience is to learn to relax, beginning with relatively easy tasks and progressing to the behavior you’re apprehensive about—in this case, giving a speech in class. • You begin at the bottom of the hierarchy and rehearse the first behavior mentally over a period of days until you can clearly visualize asking a question in class without any uncomfortable anxiety. Once you accomplish this, move to the second level, and so on until you get to the desired behavior.