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Jason French

Ms. Cramer

Comp I

5 Jan. 2018

Speaking With Fear

"Public speaking is the number-one fear among Americans," meaning that it creates more

fear in Americans than death. To be exact, death is rated the sixth most common fear and about

"85 percent of the population suffers in some degree from fear of public speaking." As you can

see, people don't favor public speaking and, in some cases, is caused due to anxiety and concern,

but suggestions for controlling anxiety isn't the best help either. Most of the time, "you can spend

so much time trying to remember the rules of how to do it that you forget what you're there for."

Public speaking is the biggest fear among Americans, but with the right attitude and preparation,

this phobia will become easier to overcome.

To start off, the audience is one of the more important aspects to public speeches. They

are the ones who you have to interact with and keep interested while you are giving the speech.

Some say knowing your audience is the most important part of the speech because you will never

have everyone tuned in at one time. A big problem encountered with this is people "tend to focus

on the 10 percent or 15 percent or 20 percent who are not listening" (Cosnett 2). Paying attention

to the people who aren't listening will make you nervous. Instead of focusing on them, you

should focus on the people who are listening, helping you become calmer as you speak.

Analyzing your audience is also important, if not "you may find that you talk down to your

audience members, or that your presentation is over their heads. Either way, you lose them"

(Donnet 5). An added tip, if you are speaking about a controversial topic, it's important to know
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if your audience is for or against what you are about to deliver a speech about. Talking and

getting involved with your audience is important, but it's also important to "target your talk for a

specific action outcome" (Anderson 6). This helps grabs more attention from the audience, if you

are able to interest them with what you're are talking about and also how you portray yourself

giving the speech. Along with knowing your audience, it is also important involving your

audience while you speak, "make contact with your group" (Whiteford 9). Making contact with

the group also helps you single out who is actually interested in what you have to say and the

ones who will either sleep or won't listen to what you have to say. This means you can forward

your attention to the ones who are willing to participate and listen to your speech. It's also

important to connect with your audience, "spend some time talking about the experience of your

youth; it's something everyone can relate to" (Muth 16). Connecting with your audience can help

bring you closer to them, and make you feel more comfortable as you speak to them, knowing

you both have something you relate to.

Furthermore, facing an audience seems challenging enough itself, there are breathing and

relaxation exercises you can do to calm yourself down. To start off, a simple breathing exercise

is using your "breath to support your speaking, so you don't end up gasping up for breath in the

middle of phrases" (Donnet 4). This seem simple enough, but it helps both you and the audience.

It benefits you because you are able to maintain consistent breathing without interruption and for

the audience they clearly understand what point you're trying to make. For relaxation exercises,

this works for even when you are currently speaking to the audience, you start with "tens[ing] up

your muscles, starting with the top of your toes. Bring it all the way up the legs, into the

buttocks, into the stomach, and through the hands" (Donnet 5). This exercise gets the adrenaline

going and helps lose the clammy feeling in your hands and energizes at the same time. Another
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simple breathing exercise is to "take three good, deep breaths right before you stand up to speak"

(Anderson 8), although simple, it's powerful too. There are also "progressive relaxation

techniques, in which you start by relaxing your toes, then relax your feet, and gradually work

your way up your body" (Anderson 8). Although breathing exercises relieve stress, they also

allow you to "support your voice for better projection and a more pleasant tone" (Whiteford 9).

Breathing exercises can help yourself, but they also help your audience understand you better

and also creates a tone the audience can feel comfortable toward. Your tone also helps draw

more attention from the audience. This specific breathing exercise also helps you "focus on

feeling consonants in words. You can feel the vibration of resonance in them. This focus also

improves dictation" (Whiteford 10). Another exercise you can try is "exercis[ing] your tongue by

stretching it out, this helps relieve vocal tensions and creates flexibility" (Whiteford 10). All in

all, body relaxation is important. "Sit comfortably with your back straight. Breathe in slowly,

hold your breath for 4 or 5 seconds, then slowly exhale. To relax your facial muscles, open your

mouth and eyes wide, then close them right" (Gard 14). With these relaxations and breathing

exercises, you should feel calmer when you're speaking instead of tensing up and stuttering.

Breathing exercises are important, but visualizing your success is also important. As a

speaker, if you see yourself succeeding instead of failing, it can make a difference on how you

will actually do. "Visualize yourself walking up to the lectern, getting comfortable, and looking

out and seeing an audience that is welcoming you, interested in what you have to say. Visualize

as vividly as possible a positive experience. If you do, the positive experience may very well fall

into place, because that's your expectation and that's what you rehearsed" (Cosnett 3). Not only is

it important visualizing how you will do, but it's also important to add visuals to your

presentation. "Different people perceive things in different ways" (Anderson 7). People learn
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things in different ways, there are some people who can learn information based solely on

speeches. Some listeners though need the aid of visuals to help them understand, but there’s a

problem, and it's being over complicated. "The key to using visuals is simplicity" (Anderson 7).

"Less is best" (Anderson 7), try not to use to many visuals, a quick rule of thumb is to use no

more than one visual for every two minutes of the speech. In the end, visualization is also

important since it can determine the outcome on how you will do overall delivering the speech.

You can "actually picture yourself giving the speech in a calm, easy manner. Form a strong

mental image of relaxed, confident you” (Gard 14), creating a strong visualization helps create a

strong speech.

In conclusion, public speaking is the biggest fear among Americans, but with the right

attitude and preparation, this phobia will become easier to overcome. By knowing your audience

and interacting with them, breathing and relaxation exercises to calm yourself down before or

during a speech, and visualization. Public speaking is a common fear among American's, but it

isn't impossible to overcome, especially with the right training and attitude.
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Works Cited

Cosnett, Gary, et al. "A survival guide to public speaking." Training & Development Journal,

Sept. 1990, p. 15+. Educators Reference Complete, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?

Gard, Carolyn J. "Do You Need to Psych Yourself Up to Give a Speech?" Current Health 2, a

Weekly Reader publication, Sept. 1999, p. 18. Opposing Viewpoints in Context

Muth, Chuck. "To connect with your audience, tell 'em your story: making a personal connection

will go a long way." Campaigns & Elections [2010], Sept.-Oct. 2012, p. 15. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context