Chapter 2 Essay

Submitted By SwimmerRunner
Words: 826
Pages: 4

Chapter 2: Managing your fear of speaking

1. Communication anxiety: those unpleasant feelings and fears you may experience before or during a presentation -turn the nervousness into positivity and that it shows that you care -even professionals feel the same way, but they learn how to turn the butteries to fly instead
2. Steps in controlling communication anxiety 1. Understanding it 2. Managing it
-the goal is not to get rid of the anxiety, but to help you control your butterflies and channeling the nervous energy to something constructive to help find your voice
3. Communication anxiety shows up the most in 1. Face to face > telephone/electronic > meetings > presentation
Understanding Communication Anxiety
1. A little bit of nervousness is a good thing -helps you get psych up for your presentation
2. Even though you’re not alone, other problems are: 1. An unfamiliar situation- once we get familiar with the situation, anxiety is less debilitating -practice your speech before a group of friends will help -practice at the room you will be giving your speech -tape yourself practicing your speech -> you will see the improvement as you keep practicing
2. The importance of the occasion- the stakes are high -since the presentation is graded and some speeches are personal or profession -to reduce discomfort, give yourself plenty of time to prepare you speech
3. The power of negative thinking- the suicidal predictions or self-fulfilling prophecies that bing about what you fear the most -way to reduce this is by accepting that it is inevitable

Managing your communication Anxiety
-There is no cure for communication anxiety, but there are ways to help you control it
1. Reality testing: subjecting negative message you send yourself to rational scrutiny. Ask yourself: 1. What has actually happened in the past? 2. What is the worst thing that might happen? 3. How bad would it be if it did happen?
-Excuses like, 1. “I’ll embarrass myself”- regardless of how embarrassed you are, the sun will come back up and move on 2. “My mind will go blank” -instead of trying to memorize, present extemporaneously: prepared and practiced -if you forget, repeat what you just said in different words
3. “I won’t be able to finish my speech”- if you feel a panic attack coming on, take comfort in knowing that it is seldom and only lasts more than a few seconds. Make sure to keep talking and look at the faces in the room. -accept your fear
4. “I’ll shake so much my classmates will laugh at me”- most listeners won’t know you are nervous unless you tell them - give yourself a positive way to work off some tension 5. “Listeners are waiting to pounce on my mistakes”- most audiences want speakers to succeed 6. “I’m going to fail this class if my speeches aren’t perfect” -there is no perfect presentation, so do your best and cut yourself some slack
2. Cognitive restructuring: replacing negative thoughts with positive, constructive ones -making a list of the irrational negative messages and determine their positive counterparts
3. Selective relaxation: practicing muscles to help you reduce physical tension by relaxing on cue
1. Find a quiet place where you can be by yourself. Sit or lie down and close your