Page 87 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

54 Part 1 Foundations

It often begins with butterfl ies in the pit of your stomach. Then your heart begins
to palpitate. Your head starts to swim, making it diffi cult for you to concentrate,
and a veil of perspiration begins to form on the palms of your hands. It may
result from being asked to pinch-hit during a game of summer softball, from
anticipating an important test you need to pass for your major, or from thinking
about an interview for a needed internship. As pointed out in an episode of ABC
television’s 20/20, however, for more than 40 percent of the adult population,
these feelings are the result of people’s anxiety about public speaking. 1
Emotional and physical discomfort with public speaking has been called ev-
erything from stage fright and speech anxiety to shyness and communication
apprehension. For our purpose, we’ll call it speech anxiety. We defi ne speech
speech anxiety
anxiety as the unpleasant thoughts and feelings aroused by the anticipation
The unpleasant thoughts 2
of a real or imagined speech in public. It is different from stage fright because
and feelings aroused
it concerns public speaking rather than acting. It is different from shyness be-
by the anticipation of a
cause it is not the result of general discomfort with social situations. Further, it is
real or imagined speech
different from communication apprehension because it affects at least twice as
in public.
many people, and because highly communication apprehensive people are fear-
ful about communicating interpersonally and in groups, not just in public. 3
There is another important distinction between speech anxiety and commu-
nication apprehension. Communication apprehension, which is the fear
communication
of real or anticipated communication with others regardless of the situation, is
apprehension
diffi cult to change with skills training. The reason general communication ap-
Fear about communicat-
prehension is so difficult to treat behaviorally may be partly the result of our
ing interpersonally and in
biology. For example, it’s well established that infants differ in the degree to
groups, not just in public.
which they are comfortable with strangers. Some show no signs of anxiety when
approached or held by strangers whereas others are clearly distressed in this
respect. Such “predispositions” are even more obvious by the time they enter
school. Could it be, then, that we are born with an inclination to avoid commu-
nicating in some circumstances? Researchers Beatty, McCroskey, and Valencic
suggest that communication apprehension may have a significant hereditary
4
component. In contrast, research shows that speech anxiety can be managed
with mental and behavioral skills you can learn both inside and outside of your
class. 5
Seventy-fi ve years of solid research have taught us much about the nature, ef-
fects, and constructive management of speech anxiety. In this chapter, we pass
some of the most relevant research along to you, as well as the aforementioned
skills. Topics discussed include (1) the physical and mental origins of speech
anxiety, (2) how speech anxiety most commonly expresses itself in the speech
process, and (3) the specifi c skills we can begin using to make our emotions
work for us rather than against us before, during, and after our speeches. To as-
sess your own level of communication apprehension and speech anxiety, fi ll out
the scales in the box “How Anxious Are You About Public Speaking?” on pages
56–57 and follow the scoring guide when you are fi nished.
physical arousal
The physical changes
that occur when a per- Physical Arousal and Speech Anxiety
son is aroused, such as
in creased pulse, greater
The relationship between physical arousal and speech anxiety is paradoxical.
alertness, and more
energy. When we speak of physical arousal, we mean the physical changes that oc-
cur when a person is aroused, such as an increased pulse rate, greater alertness,