Concorde Career College Speaking Anxiety Among People Discussion
I’m working on a humanities writing question and need a sample draft to help me learn.
First
Most people struggle with speaking anxiety because it is natural. The thoughts and feedback from peers/audience have a big effect on a person, their speaking skills, and their self-esteem. Sometimes when someone is giving a speech with anxiety they mess a lot. For example, they would keep saying “um” or not giving eye contact. They would forget some of the sentences and skip to another topic. Also, they would go fast and finish the topic before the time is over. According to DeVito, “In your introduction, try to accomplish two goals: (1) gain your audience’s attention and (2) orient the audience—tell them a little bit about what you’ll talk about” (DeVito,2019). This explains that when you get up to speak first of all you need to do is start your speech with a sentence that makes the audience give you their attention. That sentence could be part of your life or depends on what the speech is about. Also, to make it a good speech try to have a ppt this shows some support to your speech. I believe that small note cards will help the speaker give a good speech as well. For example, it will make the speaker have organized points, good eye contact, and it will make the speaker avoid saying “um”.
Second
I think it would be okay to alert the audience of my nervousness, this lets the audience know that if I do stumble or forget something that it is due to my nervousness. I might start my speech by saying something like ‘Please forgive me, this is my first time doing this.’ I feel that the audience might show a little compassion and not focus on any errors. If the speaker fumbles, don’t put your head down, cover your eyes, or otherwise communicate your awareness of the fumble. Instead, continue listening to the content of the speech; let the speaker know that you’re focused on what is being said. (DeVito, 2019) The advantage of letting the audience know this is your first speech would be that they won’t pass judgement if you do stumble. They might politely nod their heads and continue to follow along. The disadvantage could be that of the audience not taking you seriously and start to lose focus on what you’re trying to speak on. Some people might choose not to say anything, I think they might choose to do this so they don’t seem unprepared or disinterested in what they are speaking about.
