Break Your Silence: Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety

February 21, 2021
By Chris Kardol, MSW, RSW

Did you know that a whopping 70% of the general population have some level of discomfort or fear about speaking in public?  Visit this site for more interesting statistics about the fear of public speaking.  Public speaking anxiety generally decreases as we age, and college and university students tend to struggle the most.

Speech anxiety (sometimes called communication apprehension) can range from feeling mildly nervous to experiencing incapacitating fear and panic attacks.

Given that you are within the student demographic, there is a good chance you experience some level of discomfort with public speaking.  You can use the checklist below (not meant to be a diagnostic tool) to determine to what degree and how communication apprehension limits you, particularly in the academic environment.  This article doesn’t distinguish between the virtual versus in-person learning environment, but it would be interesting for you to note how being face-to-face or on-line influences your degree of comfort.

• Are you often disappointed with yourself for not speaking up or sharing your ideas in groups or class
• Does anxiety or discomfort prevent you from taking on a leadership role or expressing more of your ideas within group work?
• Are you concerned that your grade will be negatively impacted by your limited participation?
• Have you dropped or changed a class due to the oral presentation component of the course?
• Would you like to be less inhibited in expressing your viewpoints in group situations?  
• Do you worry about how you will cope with a career where there will be an expectation to speak in public or to take a lead in meetings?
• Do you spend a lot of time worrying and being preoccupied leading up to an oral presentation? Days, weeks or even months?
• Do you experience anxiety symptoms before or during a public performance such as shortness of breath, mentally blanking out, shakiness, rapid heartbeat, or fluctuations in body temperature?
• After speaking in public do you often find yourself over-analyzing and criticizing your performance/self-expression?

If you checked off even a few of these, keep reading to get some ideas on steps you can take to start overcoming (or at least minimizing) these barriers.

Like social anxiety, and often a component of it, speaking anxiety stems from a strong discomfort or even dread with being the centre of attention, fear of embarrassment, fear of judgement, fear of making a mistake and/or in being seen as flawed, and a fear of loss of control (often of one’s reactions and nervousness).

Avoidance as Coping

As with most things we fear, the most common way to cope with the fear of public speaking is through avoidance.  While understandable, avoidance unfortunately gets in the way of experiencing that great sense of mastery when we accomplish our goals.

Avoidance also feeds and increases the anxiety in the long run.  The longer we avoid a situation, the more it gets build up in our minds and body as a significant threat.  It becomes a problem because we do not give ourselves new experiences to challenge or diminish the belief that there is a real threat.

Fortunately, with practice, there are learnable skills and practical approaches that can help you take steps to face these fears.  Who knows, with time you might even get to a point where you enjoy presenting or speaking in public! (Even if there is still some nervousness)

Gradual Exposure

Gradual exposure is the optimal way to start taking these risks. This means starting with an easier task slightly outside your comfort zone and progressing to the next level of difficulty.  Gradually, with each step and accomplishment your confidence will grow, including your belief in your ability to tolerate the discomfort.

An example outside of public speaking is when learning to drive.  It is better to start with driving around a parking lot or on a quiet street to build your confidence rather than starting on the 401!  In the classroom, an example of gradual exposure is answering short or easier questions in a class weeks or months before you give an oral presentation.

Tips and Strategies

Here is a summary of some strategies and approaches to you can consider as you embark on this path.  Note that anxiety can be influenced by a variety of biological, social, and psychological factors which means that the direction and pace you take can be different from someone else’s depending on your individual circumstances.

Learning and Practicing the "Relaxation Response"

The focus here is on reducing and managing the physiological responses of anxiety such as a rapid heart rate, superficial breathing, and muscle tension.  The relaxation response does not mean you are going to be in a complete state of relaxation where you can easily fall asleep.  This response activates the parasympathetic nervous system which counters the opposite (sympathetic) side of the nervous system responsible for the “fight or flight response” (i.e. the part that hightails it into action when facing the “threat” of public speaking).  Since these two parts of your nervous system cannot be turned on simultaneously, if you work to activate your relaxation response, it suppresses the fight or flight response.  Just like any new skill, the more you practice, the better you will get at it and the more you can use it in times of stress.

The relaxation response starts with deep breathing. No doubt, you have heard many times to “just breathe” when you are stressed or anxious. Just like the rationale explained above with the relaxation response, deep breathing also has a scientific basis.  It brings more carbon dioxide into your blood, which can reduce the symptoms of light-headedness, shallow breathing, rapid heart rate and tingling/numbness that results when breathing shallow or hyperventilating.

Refocusing Attention

Which scenario will cause you more worry about an upcoming presentation?  The first scenario is being preoccupied with how much your nervousness will come across, focusing on how others will be evaluating or judging you, and being hypervigilant about not making a mistake.  Scenario two is focused on how you might communicate something that is important to you, practicing deep breathing when you feel anxious, and pausing when losing your train of thought.

The difference between scenario one and two is that with the latter, you have control of these factors.  This is where training your mind to shift the focus of attention to something within your control can help contain the fear and worry leading up to or during a speaking performance.

Managing Self-Defeating Thoughts

Your thoughts can have a huge influence on your confidence levels.  If you are preoccupied with all the things that can go wrong or all the times things have not gone perfectly in the past, no doubt you will struggle with believing in yourself or that a positive outcome is possible.

It can take time and resources to both be aware of and to change the negative thoughts (and underlying beliefs) that have a hold on you.  It can be enlightening and empowering when you realize you have the option of recognizing the presence of an unhelpful or irrational thought, so you can work on not get too caught up in it or believe it.  Over time, and with practice, you can learn to think in ways that are more adaptive and empowering.

An example of an automatic negative thought is what we call a “mental filter;” this means dwelling on and exaggerating the negatives and ignoring the positives.  For example, after your presentation you obsess about some initial apparent nervousness or that you forgot to say something instead of realizing and celebrating the fact the presentation went very smoothly overall.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Gradual exposure and practice go hand in hand.  Practice can include getting more familiar and comfortable with sharing your thoughts and opinions in any group situation.  For example, make an effort to participate within small working groups at school, or share your opinions or thoughts more often within your friend groups (particularly if you tend to be more of a “listener”).

For presentations, run through the presentation several times on your own beforehand as it helps you get familiar with the content.  If you have a memory lapse during the presentation, you are in a better position to regain composure as your familiarity with the content will be stronger.  Also practice reviewing your presentation with a friend or family member either virtually or in person.  Again, this is for the purpose of exposure so that you are confronting some of the discomfort before you face a larger audience.

Next Steps

For more techniques and to go into these above strategies in more depth you are invited to attend our virtual Ride the Wave workshop on conquering speaking anxiety.  Join us on February 22, 2021 from 2 to 3 on Zoom.

If you would like more support with performance and presentation anxiety, call the Student Wellness Centre to book an appointment with a counsellor.