For the PRCA, I received a total score of a 64. This was broken down in to a 16 for group discussions, 16 for meetings, 18 for interpersonal conversations and 14 for public speaking. I thought this was interesting and actually very accurate- I would say I have some moderate anxiety about communication however I would say I am more anxious about interpersonal situations- discussing one on one with someone I have just met- versus public speaking. This reflects in the fact that my interpersonal score was an 18, which was 3.5 points higher than average while my public speaking was ranked at a 14, 5.3 points lower than average. I think I probably would have scored a higher anxiety score for public speaking in the past, however, three years ago I began teaching yoga and pilates classes. Instructing these classes has made me much more comfortable- now whenever I do any sort of public speaking I imagine myself teaching yoga and I feel much more calm and can enjoy giving the speech.
For the PRPSA I received a score of 93, which is moderate public speaking anxiety levels. I would say the anxiety I have while giving a speech comes from the fact that I know all eyes are on me. I get nervous about what people think of me- how I sound, what I'm doing with my hands, etc. I know that when these feelings of anxiety occur I talk much faster and have a tendency to skip over points that I originally wanted to make during the presentation. I think if I could work on these tendencies and reduce my anxiety I can come off as more confident and personable. In addition, having effective communication skills can make me more appealing for future employees. I think practicing my communication skills is the most effective way to improve them- especially in situations I am not already comfortable with; I am already very comfortable teaching a yoga class so it would be most beneficial for me to find a new setting to do some public speaking. Finally, as with anything that gives someone anxiety, a support system is extremely helpful Discussing with my fellow classmates about our anxiety towards public speaking and sharing tips on how to overcome them can be helpful for everyone involved.
Sorry this is late- my internet has been down all weekend because of the rain!
'm not surprised that you say that knowing your topic like an expert is one of the reasons you feel more comfortable with public speaking. I don't know if there is any hard data on the issue, but I personally believe that the more one knows about a topic, and the more confident one feels that his or her information is accurate and timely, the more comfortable that person will be presenting the information to others. It sounds like your personal experiences support this idea:)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, there is no magic pill one can take to inspire confidence. There is a sign on the wall of my kids' school that says "The only way to get better at reading and writing is to read and write." The same is true with speaking to a point. With practice comes confidence, but as you mentioned before, that confidence also comes from being prepared, regardless of how many eyes are on you. I would advocate that a few butterflies are actually a good thing, but that's a different story.
Finally, I like the ideas you have about helping your peers, but I'm curious how you can enact them given the online nature of the class? What are things you (and your classmates) could and should do to be good listeners throughout the semester?
I think by using technology such as the google hangout we can continue to work on our listening skills- especially because all of the technical difficulties that occur can make communicating harder than usual. In addition to this, we can also share our own tips for public speaking while on google hangout- for instance I could suggest really researching/knowing the topic you have to present on it or imagining that you are in a peaceful place. But I do agree- I think having this class online will change what we take away from the class. However, this doesn't necessarily mean we will get less out of it- just something different.
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