Public speaking anxiety often manifests itself in poor delivery techniques such as nervous movements, poor eye contact, or rapid speech rate.
The official term for an extreme fear of public speaking is glossophobia “glass tongue”
Trait and Situational
Trait - Caused by personality or physical makeup. So like a disorder.
Situational - situational factors: huge audience, high stakes
Another interesting distinction among those who experience public speaking anxiety is whether their anxiety falls into a habituation pattern or sensitization pattern.
Habitualization - gets easier as you speak
Sensitzation - get harder as you speak
The theory is that sensitizers are more sensitive to changes in their bodies, and stress symptoms such as increased heart rate or sweaty palms lead to even more anxiety. It may comfort you to know that the majority of people are habituators; once they stand up and start speaking, their anxiety levels will decrease.
Situational Causes:
- Fear of failure
- fear of judgement
- lack of preparation
- lack of experience - me
Symptoms: |- Dry mouth |- Upset stomach |- Red face |- Shaking |- Sweating |- Shortness of breath |- Feeling jittery |- Increased heart rate
Prepare and Practice
- Preparation
- Skills training
- Desensitization/Exposure
- Visualization
- Cognitive Restructuring
- Present more frequently.