Communication Apprehension seemed to be a major focus in our presentations today. We reviewed in class earlier this semester that two important ingredients to effective speech delivery are reprogramming your "self talk" and putting in proper preparation so you really "know your stuff". Take a look at this clip. Then, post to the blog what your self talk sounds like and a portion of this interview that you identified with in your experience. What does your self talk sound like? What are three practical suggestions that you can give yourself to begin to conquer your speech anxiety?
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ReplyDeleteSorry for the test... was having computer problems.
ReplyDeleteMy self talk includes convincing myself t hat I know the material, and will be fine. It is not the fear of people, but the fear of loosing track of what I want to convey.If I sit and watch others I get more nervous, expecially if they are doing something distracting.. it kind of freaks me out. I have to make myself take a deep breath and say "dont do that". It distracts myself to my own speech.
Three suggestions for myself:
1. Preparation being the key one
2. Rehearse more in front of people. I did not speak in front of anyone... just myself and my dogs. They were no help, and could not give me feedback.
3. I guess just trying to use the internal energy to my benefit. Instead of it coming out as nervousness... to use it towards my speech.
---primarily preparation. I have spoken in front of people on nursing subjects, and been very comfortable because I was comfortable with the material.
I really do not have any fear of speaking in front of others. My problem is when I have to speak about something that is assigned. If I had to just stand up there and talk I would be great. I would say that my fault would be is I need more practice speaking aloud in front of others with a rehearsed speech. I would do better if I were able to know what exactly had to be said without actually knowing what I have to say. If you can understand what that means. I feel that I did a good job considering I was still confused about the concept of what need to be done. I never had a public speaking class, and I guess the best thing I can say to myself is try, try till I get the hang of it. I will try to do what was suggested and feel more comfortable on my topic and see if that would work. Second, I will feel more confident in what I talk about. I think it is important to connect with the audience. I want to make sure that I keep their full attention on what I am speaking about. Third, I would use more photos, showing what I am speaking about. I will make sure that I have back up information ready in case something fails.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing from the clip that I really identified with was the gentlemen talking about the "fight or flight" adrenaline rush before speaking. I like to go first when publically speaking because the more time I have to think about my speech, the more I freak myself out. I almost pass out sometimes on my walk to the front of the room. My self talk is, "Calm down, calm down, calm down." That's all. I try to review what I am going to say in my head before I start speaking aloud. Three suggestions I can give myself are, to learn to relax, know the material and practice, practice, practice. The more you practice, the better you will be.
ReplyDeletePatty
ReplyDeleteMy self talk sounds like this; you can do this, this is just for five minutes, you talked about this a millon times, it should come out smooth and fluent. Still, I feel uncomfortable when I'm in class because I know your judging me.
What I could identify with in the video clip is loosing my focus. I need to focus on channeling the adrenaline so I could get into a zone where I can just be myself.
Three suggestios I could give myself would be to channel my andrealine rush in to positive energy so I could get into a zone. Next rehearse out loud. Be prepared verbally as weel as on paper and computer.Remember it's not about me it's about my message.
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteI have been contemplating on how I can perfect my speech technique. I do believe,that I should develop good eye contact with the audience, maintain good posture, deliver a sensible thesis, and most important of all remember the message is the main focus of the speech.
DebraP
Hello Patricia,
ReplyDeleteI am going to critique you on your speech last friday in class. I have to find three strengths that you exhibited. I enjoyed your topic, and it kept my interest. You were able to use power point and that made the speech stronger. I was able to hear your voice, because you had good volume. There were three weaknesses that I must discuss. First, your relied on your paper too much and did not make proper eye contact with the audience. Secondly, your posture could have been better,and last but not least your speech could have been better organized.
DebraP
After listening to the interview of Mr. Aguilera, I was able to relate to the problem of nervousness. I can remember in High School I would ge upset to be in the front of the class mainly because I had an accent that would be heard wherever I would pronounce certain words. as and adult I continue to have an accent which varies to a degree and I also tend to get cotton mouth when speaking to groups of people. I have found a amall solution to that problem if I drink a cup of tea beforehand, it relaxes me. Mr Aguilera suggested to be prepared which sometimes I think I over do it and say too much. I find that when I am in the fight/flight mode which can be positive I am better at commenting on a subject than explaining. In my culture we tend to talk loud as part of how we communicate; so I know that I must always be mindful of my facial expressions, how I frame my words and the tone of my voice so that I do not sound or look harsh.
ReplyDeleteWhen giving a speech my first concern is my nervousness. I start feeling my hands sweating and my heart raising as soon as the class starts. I must agree with Danielle's comment that going first helps a lot because it stops the continuous and increase of nervousness that sometimes blocks my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching Mr. Aguilera's intervew I could give myself three advices: first, take all the adrenaline that is causing me to feel nervous and channel it into good energy that will allow mne to give a more enthusiastic speech. Second, reherse the speech in front of family or people that I feel comfortable with and that would be able to give me feedback and last but most important, know what I am talking about. Knowledge is power!
When I give a speech, I get nervous because I'm going to be graded on it. I suppose instead of focusing on my grade I should be focusing on delivering my speech. Saying my speech out loud makes me feel horrendously silly. I hate it, probably because when I took speech classes in grammar school my voice would be recorded and critiqued. I need to work on practicing my speeches out loud instead of saying them in my head.
ReplyDeleteHello Everyone,
ReplyDeleteI was having problems with my blog address. I just wanted to let everyone know, Testing 123
debrap
The portion of the interview that I can identify with in my experience is when the communication expert said that you will get nervous when people tell you that, "you are going to be nervous." People advice me not be nervous in front of people or not to show your anxiety outwardly. In a continous statement they tell you that I'll be nervous anyway. These kind of statements increases my anxiety.
ReplyDeleteMy self-talk includes, asking myself to calm down. So that my nervousness is not visible to my audience. High self-esteem and taking a deep breath before the speech has helped me a lot.
My first suggestion is to choose a topic that interests me or a topic that I know a lot about. So that I don't work on the speech as I would work on a regualar homework but as an opportunity to tell other people about my interests.
My second suggestion to conquer speech anxiety is to prepare for the speech well in advance unlike other homeworks. So that I can correct my self if I had made any mistakes and reduce pressure and anxiety on speech day. Public speaking is a skill that cannot be obtained over night.
My third suggestion would be, not to recite the speech. I've tried reciting the speeches couple of times, everytime I do that I start out well without anxiety and pressure but when I forget a single sentence or even a single word, it messes up the whole speech. So after I look at the script to read that forgotten sentence, I've never been able to look at the audience and I read the speech throughout.
I really don't become nervous when it comes to public speaking. I've been in front of audiences for pretty much my whole life thanks to my experience on the stage and student teaching. I really don't have a "self talk". I just get up and perform without the nerves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what the interviewer said in the video about preparation. If you're prepared and know you're topic well everything should go fine.
My self-talk usually focuses on what was mentioned in the interview as “demystifying” the anxiety over public speaking. I know that I am not anxious over what my audience thinks of my delivery. I am rather comfortable with speaking to or in front of people, but yet when delivering an assigned speech for a grade, I will sometimes feel anxious. To conquer my speech anxiety I remind myself that the answer resides in my own mind and once that answer is realized, practice and determination are all I need (and all I can employ) to address the issue. Through the process of “demystifying” this anxiety, I have found that my harshest critic is myself and my own internally generated judgments and reflections can make me anxious that I will not match my idealized speech delivery. From my experiences with public speaking, I have realized that I do not need to pressure myself towards perfection. My self-talk usually focuses on the notion that there is no actual template for a perfect speech. The perfect speech would be one that I can deliver comfortably and reflect on it positively. Grades and personal expectations are important and great motivators to improve and strive for the best work you can produce, but they can also become insurmountable barricades to the production of your best work.
ReplyDeleteI get extremely nervous right before my speech, and that is usualy the very worst moment for me. As soon as I am standing in front of the room and I make eye contact with everyone, I feel so much better- Because I've got to think about something besides my nerves. My self talk generally consists of a mild freak-out, followed by some calm breathing, and then followed by some review of my thesis. As long as I know my speech, I know I will be fine, even if there are technical difficulties, or what have you.
ReplyDeleteI really related to Mr. Aguilera's reference to channeling the adrenaline. This is something that I have thankfully learned to do through singing. I learned to channel my nervous energy into my voice. By projecting my voice and promoting contagious energy, my speech became more powerful through my ability to channel nervous energy.
Three suggestions I can think about in order to conquer speech anxiety are: we are all going to have to get up here eventually, what other people think of me isn't any of my business, and of course, to make it about the message and not me.
My biggest way of calming down is just to really know the material and have a plan. If I know my speech, I don't care if my knees get wobbly... I just remember that I practiced a lot, and that I know my stuff. :o)