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Article Anxiety Level in Students of Public Speaking: Causes and Remedies Farhan Raja Institute of Business Management farhan.raja@iobm.edu.pk Abstract
Despite being competent in their field of work, professional’s worldwide struggle due to lack of good public speaking skills. Their assessments and appraisals are often not depictive of their professional competitiveness; therefore, it is important for students to overcome public speaking anxiety before they transit from academic life to professional life. The purpose of this study is to analyze the reasons behind the anxiety level in undergraduate students of a public speaking class and recommend strategies to overcome this fear. This study was entailed quantitative research paradigm on a sample of 50 students using convenience sampling technique from a reputable private sector business school in Karachi. The findings showed that students who fear public speaking can perform well if they use certain strategies to fight their fears. 75% participants admitted their fear of public speaking and 95% participants agreed that if proper counseling, instruction and coaching is provided, this fear can be overcome. Research revealed that exposure to virtual environment can facilitate student confidence and enables themto face audience irrespective of the size.
Keywords: anxiety, confidence, fear, public speaking
Journal of Education and Educational Development
Introduction Most people are not born public speakers; they are trained to become one. When they find themselves in situations where they become the focus of attention as they have to address an audience, they experience emotions like fear and anxiety, leading to nausea and excessive sweating. Most of them try to avoid situations where they have to perform or speak in public, but when unavoidable, such situations are endured by distress. According to Lucas (2011), “Many people who converse easily in all kinds of everyday situations become frightened at the idea of standing up before a group to make a speech”(p.9). Such people need to realize that they are not the only ones who may be going through these emotions; in fact, almost every speaker feels the same. It is important that people consciously realize the fact that there are more nervous speakers in the world than those who are not.
Professionals are expected to regularly keep on improving their communication skills. Verderber, Sellnow and Verderber (2011) state, “Public speaking, a sustained formal presentation by a speaker to an audience, is simply one form of human communication. So learning to be an effective public speaker will help you to be more effective in other communication settings as well” (p.2). A change in their confidence, speaking style, intonation pattern and the rest can result in a positive change in their professionalism and personality. As per the viewpoint of health care professionals, Tacheva (2013) asserts that “The verbal register, intonation, articulation, pronunciation, tone, rhythm, dialect define the character of the communicative impact as positive or negative depending on whether they facilitate or hinder the achievement of communicative
Anxiety Level in Students of Public Speaking
Research questions
- To what extent does there exist a fear of public speaking among the undergraduate students of a private sector business school?
- What factors are responsible for the fear of public speaking among the undergraduate students of a private sector business school? Literature review In today’s time and age, good communication skills are needed the most at all levels. According to Raja (2013), “Communication has become one of the markers of social solidarity, social ranking and professional capabilities and most of the components of the language are learnt through this medium” (p. 154). According to Pertaub, Slater and Baker (2001), professionals are expected to present numerous talks to both small and large groups of audience at different intervals of their professional lives and if they become victims of public speaking anxiety, they face a backlash and this anxiety can have a severe influence on their career. Their research also describes the results, which illustrate that social anxiety induced in people is directly proportional to the variety of feedback received from the audience. They explain that this creates a strong impact on the confidence of the individuals and it translates significantly into their public addresses. Spijck (2011) amplified that according to his research, almost eighty out of every hundred people experienced public speaking anxiety at a small or large scale. Every four out of ten people rank public speaking fear as one of their apex three fears,
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often a fear more dreadful than death. Most psychologists refer to it as an irrational fear which could be easily overcome.
With this, the need of public speaking skills is on the rise as well because as individuals excel in their career, they are more likely to present and speak in meetings, seminars and conferences and give their opinion regarding the issues in hand. However, due to public speaking anxiety, some people become restless and face sleeping disorders when they have to speak in front of an audience. Many authors have researched on the causes and reasons behind public speaking anxiety and have come up with numerous tips and strategies to deal with such situations and to overcome this fear. Whatever the methodology may be to overcome public speaking anxiety, this skill should be a part of curriculum right from school to university level.
Akin and Kunzman (1974) in their study outlined a program that was premeditated to behaviorally condensed symptoms of public speaking anxiety among students. The evaluation showed that mixed behavioral format emphasizing practice situations results similar to the desensitization approach,which teaches participants to control their anxiety by enabling them to gradually face it through exposing them again and again to the anxious situation. Hence, those who practice well before they speak in public, are more likely to be confident and deliver good presentations. Similarly, Riegel (2013) proposes that public speaking anxiety is not directly proportionate to the number of audience present in one’s talk. A small group of audience may terrify you as badly as a large group. She suggests that when this fear hits presenters, they need to deploy strategies which might enable them to stand on the stage with confidence and vigor.
Anxiety L evel in S tudents of P ublic S peaking
should also analyze the requirements of the topic and examine the motivation for speaking and the audience’s motivation for listening. He emphasizes on goal setting and puts forward that one should also set some specific goals that need to be achieved at the end of the presentation. If the speaker is not certain about his/her stance, it will not leave a good impression on the audience and the audience may get demotivated.
Many authors and researchers stress upon the significance of virtual environment. They suggest that exposure to virtual environments and simulations can result in fighting public speaking fear in people. Sandra, Robert and Max (2002) undertook a study to examine the efficacy of Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) in overcoming public speaking anxiety of university students. Their sample comprised fourteen students divided into two groups. Students in group one underwent VRT individual treatment and post-testing, whereas the other students in the control group completed the post- test only. Results indicated that VRT sessions successfully helped the students reduce their public speaking anxiety.
Methodology This was a small scale exploratory research conducted to analyze the needs of students of public speaking class at undergraduate level for formulating strategies that would overcome public speaking anxiety. The study was conducted using the quantitative descriptive research method. Creswell (1994) defines quantitative research as an explanation of phenomena by collecting numerical data that are analyzed using mathematically based methods. The methodology that was used to carry out the study included questionnaires as primary data collection tool.
Anxiety Level in Students of Public Speaking
Instrument
The data were collected using the self-administered questionnaires that were distributed to fifty undergraduate students of a reputable private sector business school. The questionnaire was constructed using relevant literature review and observations of the researcher that he had accumulated during the five years of teaching this course. The researcher; therefore, first bracketed his observations, which helped him to construct a very simple questionnaire, which consisted of five polar questions. The first question was regarding the fear of public speaking; the second question inquired if lack of confidence was the reason of fear, the third question looked into the impact of the number of audience on students’ public speaking performance; question four inquired about how participating in public speaking activities help students deliver better presentations; and the last question asked whether they thought that their fear of public speaking can be overcome by using some strategies and seeking professional help.
Sample
The study was conducted with 50 Computer Sciences undergraduate students of a reputable private sector business school in Karachi. Convenience sampling method was used as “In convenience sampling, the sample is restricted to a part of the population that is readily accessible” (Singh 7 Mangat, 1996, p.7).
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of the data collected. The results of these questionnaires were interpreted and conclusions were drawn. Table 1 shows the percentage responses given by the students.
Table 1 Percentage responses given by the undergraduate students
Questions N %age response ‘yes’
%age response ‘No’ Do you have fear of public speaking?
Do you think that this fear is due to lack of confidence?
Does the audience size play a role in your public speaking performance?
Do you think participating in public speaking activities more will help you perform better in presentations?
Do you think that your fear of public speaking can be overcome by using some strategies and seeking some professional help?
The answer to the first question whether the students feared
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public speaking or not was that more than 75% of them surveyed feared speaking in front of an audience. Thus, the majority of them were found to be afraid of speaking in front of others, which is consistent with McCains’ (2012) results that showed that, “Nearly 90% of people reported feeling shy or uncomfortable speaking in front of others at some time in their lives” (p.1). However, this observation differs from person to person, as different people have different beliefs and confidence level for familiar and unfamiliar audiences.
The second question inquired whether the students thought this fear was due to lack of confidence. The data analysis of second question showed that for more than 50% of the respondents lack of confidence was an important variable. Sjoberg (2006) suggests that learners, who lack confidence, need encouragement in the initial phase of learning so that they could be encouraged to participate in the class. Kelly and Watson (1986) also argue that confidence is one of the key contributors in the learning of speaking skills. The above studies give us a reason for the 50% of the students who felt that lack of confidence was the reason for them to be anxious during public speaking.
The third question explored whether the number of audience played a major role on students’ performance during presentations. 82% respondents confessed that audience size has a strong impact on their performance and level of nervousness. The reason for this impact is given by Gamston and Wellman (1992) and they conclude that, “Large audience often seems more intimidating than smaller ones” ( p. 35).The fourth question inquired whether more participation in public speaking activities help students perform
Anxiety Level in Students of Public Speaking
Conclusion and recommendations This study was carried out to investigate the anxiety level in the students of public speaking and to provide sufficient results which prove that this fear is very common among individuals, especially among university students. Literature was reviewed to shed light on researches that have been conducted earlier in the same area to validate the study and to build upon what has already been done. To summarize, the research proves that fear of public speaking is a learned skill and can be overcome by practicing and rehearsing before presentations or speeches and people who experience public speaking anxiety can perform as well as those who have a good command over public speaking. The following techniques can help students overcome public speaking anxiety.
- The instructor needs to help students realize that being stressful is natural.
- Better preparation and understanding of the topic eliminates the chance of making a mistake or getting off track during a public speaking activity.
- A moment of silence is nothing to be afraid of. If speakers lose track of what they are saying or begin to feel nervous, it is likely that the audience will not mind a pause to consider what the speakers have been saying.
- Practicing complete speech several times would certainly give the speakers an edge. They can practice it with a small number of people they are at ease with.
Anxiety Level in Students of Public Speaking
- Speakers should seek feedback of the audience during practice sessions or can ask someone to record the talk. Watching it several times for self-criticism also helps facilitate the learning and improvement process.
- Better preparation also helps speakers recover quickly if they go off track or get confused.
- The speakers should anticipate audience responses and queries that may be generated during practice so that they could have confident answers.
- It is essential to focus on the material, not on the audience as people are primarily paying attention to the information being presented.
- The speakers should recognize and acknowledge their success. It may not have been perfect, but chances are that the speakers are far more critical of themselves than the audience is.
- Joining an active public speaking forum would also benefit the students. Once they get into the habit of considering themselves comfortable in an unknown environment while speaking in public, the anxiety would automatically go down and make the speakers feel at ease.
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Pertaub, D. P., Slater, M., & Barker, C. (2002). An experiment on public speaking anxiety in response to three different types of virtual audience. Presence: Teleoperatorsand Virtual Environments , 11 (1), 68-78.
Riegel, D. G. (2013, January 17). 3 Strategies for managing public speaking anxiety : In creative braintrust. Retrieved from http:// www.fastcompany.com/3004857/3-strategies-managing-public- speaking-anxiety
Raja, F.U. (2013). Spoken communication skills taught at English language institutes as a second language. Journal of Research (Humanities), XLIX , 153-163.
Sandra, R. H., Robert, L. K., Max, M. N. (2002). Brief virtual reality therapy for public speaking anxiety. Cyber Psychology & Behavior 5 (6), 543-550.
Singh, R., & Mangat, S. N. (1996). Elements of survey sampling .Boston : Kluwer Academic Publishers.
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Sjoberg, J. (2006, May). Join the club! English Teaching Professional,44, 49-51. Spijck, B.V. (2011). Overcoming fear of public speaking. Retrieved from https://coachcampus.com/coach-portfolios/research-papers/ joana-reis-an-approach-for-coaches/
Tacheva, V. (2013).Communication – the master key to the patient’s heart. JAHR, 4 (7), 601-620.
Verderber, R. F. Verderber, K. S., & Sellnow, D. D. (2011). The challenge of effective speaking. Boston: Cengage Learning.
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Anxiety Level in Students of Public Speaking
