Developing Confidence through the Speech Planning Process © LWA / Dann Tardif / Blend Images / Jupiter Images

Public Speaking Apprehension A type of communication anxiety; the level of fear a person experiences when anticipating or actually speaking in front of an audience. It’s completely normal to be nervous or have stage fright towards public speaking – means you care about what you plan to talk about Have students complete exhibit 2.2 on page 22 Have students share their level of fear Almost all people have some level of fear, but 15% have high levels of apprehension. 2

Symptoms of Public Speaking Apprehension Physical Emotional Cognitive (Can include negative self-talk) Symptoms and levels vary for everyone – mild to debilitating (but not for most). Cognitive - Negative self talk is the most common cause of public speaking apprehension Physical – stomach upset/butterflies, flushed skin, sweating, shaking, etc. Emotional – feeling anxious, worried or upset 3

Phases of Public Speaking Apprehension Anticipation reaction Confrontation reaction Adaptation reaction Generally, apprehension decreases as we speak. Anticipation – anxiety felt right before giving speech and while preparing it Confrontation – surge of anxiety felt as you begin to speak – falls about 1 minute into speech Adaptation phase – period when anxiety level continues to decrease. Generally after 5 minutes you have adapted. 4

Causes of Public Speaking Apprehension Negative Self-talk Biologically based temperament Previous experience Level of skills Negative self-talk – you telling yourself that the speech will not go well generally focuses on a fear of being stared at, unknowns, failure where does negative self-talk come from? biologically based temperament – this theory suggest that it’s a part of who we are/our temperament introverted/neurotic – higher levels of anxiety than extroverted previous experience – result of how you feel prior public speaking efforts have gone (yours or those you have seen and may model) past experiences may predict future experiences doesn’t have to be true – there are ways to overcome all of these causes of apprehension level of skills – having underdeveloped speaking skills don’t know how to or choose not to properly plan and prepare for an effective public presentation effective speech planning is an orderly process based on a set of skills that you will be learning through this course goal is for you to become a more confident and skilled speaker 5

Overcoming Public Speaking Apprehension General methods Communication orientation motivation (COM) Visualization Relaxation Exercises General (6) and specific (8) techniques that can help us reduce anxiety and manage nervousness COM – thinking of giving a speech as a way of communicating rather than a performance “performance orientation” – think you have to use special delivery techniques in order to impress an audience or viewing audience as hypercritical judges who will notice every mistake “communication orientation” – viewing speech as just an opportunity to talk with a number of people about a topic that is important to everyone recognize that audience is trying to understand, not judge  this can lower anxiety levels Visualization – picture yourself giving your speech the best way it can be delivered (ex: confidence and audience providing undivided attention) helps overcome mental and emotional causes of fear lowers fear and reduces negative thoughts when speaking Relaxation exercises – breathing techniques and muscle relaxation to release tension 6

Overcoming Public Speaking Apprehension General methods (cont.) Systematic desensitization Cognitive restructuring Public speaking skills training Systematic desensitization – learn relaxation techniques and then visualize increasingly more frightening events ex: visualize yourself doing research in a library, practicing the speech out loud to a roommate, finally delivering the speech works for 80% of people have a physical fear of public speaking Cognitive restructuring (activity?) – replacing negative self-talk with anxiety-reducing positive self-talk 4 steps – ID and write down all your fears, analyze how rational fears are, develop positive statements to replace negative statements, incorporate these into daily life so they become natural (write down and post around house, read them every day) Public Speaking Skills Training – reduce fears by learning skills involved in preparing and delivering an effective public speech in order to improve speaking competence skills include – process of goal analysis, audience and situation analysis, organization, delivery and self-evaluation 7

Specific Techniques Allow sufficient time to prepare. Use presentational aids. Practice your speech aloud. Dress up. Specific techniques to be used days before your speech and the day of allow sufficient time to prepare – give yourself a week to 10 days to prepare. Once you know the date you’ll be speaking, choose a topic and begin researching, organizing and practicing use presentational aids – takes the attention away from you (especially good if your anxiety stems from the idea that all are watching you). practice your speech aloud – get comfortable hearing yourself talk about your topic by 3rd or 4th time your delivery will be smoother which will increase your confidence practice in front of others you trust review your speech right before you go to sleep the night before you’ll be presenting dress up – feel good about how you look – it will also build your credibility 8

Specific Techniques (cont.) Choose an appropriate time to speak. Use positive self-talk. Face the audience. Focus on sharing your message. Appropriate time – if given the choice – choose the best time for you (ie. Before others or after others because it is calming) Positive self-talk – pre-game prep talk tell yourself that you are confident and ready – you have prepared and have important things to say. Also, remind yourself that some nervousness is normal Face the audience – walk up to the front with confidence, take a few moments to look at the audience and calm yourself (count to 5 or take a breath) Focus on sharing your message – most likely the audience won’t see your nervousness so keep focused on your message to them 9

The Six Steps of a Speech Plan Strategy You will have more confidence in your ability to give a speech when you have developed a speech plan – strategy for achieving your goal We will review a 6 step speech plan strategy 5 of these steps came from roman philosophers who identified them over 2,000 years ago – called the canons of rhetoric – speaker oriented. invention, arrangement, style, delivery and memory More recently scholars have realized that effective speeches are also audience-centered and addressed the rhetorical situation 10

Step #1 Select a speech goal that is appropriate for the audience and occasion. Speech goal – a statement of what you want your listeners to know, believe, or do. Choose a topic that you know about or interests or is important to you Think about your specific audience and setting who are they, what do they already know about your topic size of the audience, when are where speech will be given, time limit, audience expectations Your specific speech goal articulates exactly what you want your audience to understand, believe or do in this class you will generally either be presenting information or trying to persuade your classmates 11

Step #2 Understand your audience and adapt to it. Audience adaptation – the process of tailoring your speech’s information to the needs, interests, and expectations of your listeners. Consider: audience’s initial interest in your topic/goal If little interest you will need to adapt your speech to show why there should be interest in your topic this may mean providing basic information if audience doesn’t know much about your topic ability to understand the content of your speech attitude toward you and your topic Bill Aron / PhotoEdit 12

Step #3 Gather and evaluate information for use in your speech based on: Knowledge and experiences, Observations, Interviews, Surveys, and Research. When you pick a topic you may know something about it, but will most likely need more information You will need to evaluate the information you gather and select items you deem to be valid and truthful the more you know about your topic the easier it is to evaluate other information For your major speech assignments you can draw from (those listed above) Bill Aron/PhotoEdit 13

Step #4 Organize and develop ideas into a well-structured speech outline. First, have 2-4 memorable main points, Then, prepare an outline of the body of the speech. Introduction should grab audience’s attention and transition to the body of speech. Conclusion should remind listeners of goal and main points of speech. Make a complete sentence out of each main point – these become the main points for the body of your speech Next combine your speech goal with each sentence to create a thesis that describes what you want your audience to understand/do/believe This creates the framework (macrostructure) for your speech this must be formulated and worded to help your audience understand what you want them to understand. 2 basic organizational frameworks: chronological – following an order from 1st to last topical – following an order of headings/concepts (may be most simple to more complex) Introduction – establish listener relevance and speaker credibility Conclusion – be creative and tie back to your attention getter in order to help audience remember your message Most of us benefit from creating a complete speech outline 3-5 minutes – up to 50% of the words in your speech 5-8 minutes – up to 33-50% 30-45 minues – only 20% 14

Step #5 Choose visual and other presentational aids that are appropriate for the audience. Clarify Emphasize Dramatize Audiences understand and retain information better when they have received information through more than one sense Also takes the pressure off you Make sure everyone can see/hear them 15

Step #6 Practice your oral language and delivery style until: The wording is accurate, clear, vivid, and appropriate; The delivery is intelligible, conversational, and expressive; and You can deliver it extemporaneously within the time limit. Goal of practicing is to give your confidence that you can talk comfortably with your audience and accomplish your speech goal within the time limit Will help with transitioning from one point to another 16

Narrative/Personal Experience Speech The narrative/personal experience speech is a presentation in which you recount an experience or experiences you have had and the significance you attach to it or them. A story – often has a moral point (life lesson about right or wrong) First major speech you will be doing When preparing use the 6 steps we just covered to develop your speech plan Tim Shaffer / Reuters/Landov 17

Narrative/Personal Experience Speech Elements The point or life lesson Supporting details Dialogue Recounting of emotional incidents They may be funny, tragic, or frightening Narrative speech has: a point to it and a details that build to a climax supporting details to give background and embellish the story so your point has maximum effect describe characters, settings and events narrative drama can be increased by using dialogue gives the audience the experience of being there and increases interest and involvement an emotional aspect, often – funny, tragic or frightening also create a bond between speaker and audience 18

Websites Managing public speaking apprehension http://www.nvcc.edu/home/npeck/spd100/blueprintfiles/nervous.htm Chuck Savage / Corbis 20