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For many people, the idea of giving a
presentation in front of a group is cause for much
nervousness and anxiety. Chapter 2 of Oral
Presentations for Technical Communication
analyzes "speaking anxiety" and helps you
understand the component parts that often create
such anxiety. This chapter also provides you with
some helpful suggestions and tangible items you can
do to prevent nervousness. In specific, this
chapter covers the following areas:
• What is Speaking
Anxiety?
• Everyone Experiences It
• Physical Symptoms
• What You Can Do to Overcome Your
Anxiety
These exercises build on the ideas addressed
in Chapter 2:
1. Identify a situation in the past when you've
been nervous about giving a presentation. Isolate
as many individual factors as you can as to why you
were nervous in that situation. Next to each item,
list steps you can take to overcome these anxiety
producing items.
2. If you are not a particularly nervous
speaker, ask yourself why this might be. What
factors in your personality, speaking style, or
organizational habits help you?
3. Stand up, balance your posture, and take a
series of slow, deep breaths. Breathe in through
your nose, then exhale through your mouth. Notice
the muscles in your face and neck. Relax these.
Throughout the next few days, pay attention to your
breathing and muscle tension. In stressful daily
situations, practice deep breathing and muscle
relaxation.
4. Attend a presentation and make notes on the
presenter's overall tone -- did he or she appear
relaxed? What things did the presenter do or not do
well? Think about the kind of presenter you would
like to be.
Presentations and Cyberspace. Using
search engines, find useful articles on the Web
that focus on strategies and tactics speakers can
use to reduce and harness nervousness. Create a
list that supplements the list presented in the
chapter (be sure to cite your sources) and share
the list with your class.
Presentations and Teamwork. With another
student, create a list of the specific things
people are afraid will happen when they speak.
Create a master list of the anxiety-inducing events
that the groups in your class have listed. Then,
working again in pairs, create an equally long list
of the specific actions a speaker can take to
reduce the likelihood that those events will occur.
Share that list with your class; in addition,
decide which actions you will use to increase your
speaking comfort.
Presentations and International
Communication. Imagine that you are scheduled
to travel to England to conduct a training
workshop, and the attendees will represent
countries throughout Europe. What aspects of this
presentation might make you anxious? What specific
steps can you take to alleviate your anxiety?
Presentations and Your Profession. Obtain
and use a resource (e.g., book, audio tape, video
tape) that provides information about visualizing
success. As suggested by your resource, practice
visualizing yourself giving a successful
presentation to your work group. Plan how you will
use this process to help you give effective
presentations.
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