How to get rid of stage fright

WHAT’S COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION ?

Many people developing negative feelings about their ability to communicate orally, anticipating that their communication
efforts will fail.
 General And Specific Apprehension: people have general communication apprehension that shows itself in all
communication situations. Their fear appears in conversations, small group settings, and public speaking situation.
Other people experience communication apprehension in only certain communication situations. For example, a speaker
may fear public speaking but have no difficulty in taking with two or three other people. State apprehension is
extremely common. Most people experience in some their communication situation.
 Degree of Apprehension: Communication apprehension exist on a continuum. Some people are so apprehensive that
they’re unable to function effective in any communication situation; often they avoid communication as much as
possible. On the other hand, there are people who actively seek for opportunities; these are mildly apprehensive that
they do not experience fear at all. However, most of people are in between these extremes; don’t have the ultimate fear
of communication, and at the same time not very confident in certain situations.
 Positive And Normal Apprehension: Apprehension in public speaking is normal. Everyone experiences some degree
of fear in a formal public speaking situation. Because the speaker is the sole focus of attention and usually being
evaluated. Although apprehension may be viewed as harmful, it can work for you; the fear can energize you. It may
motive the speaker to work harder to produce a speech that will be better than it might have been.
 Culture And Communication Apprehension: the cultural composition of you audience can contribute to uncertainty,
fear, and anxiety, all of which are intimately related to communication apprehension. Intercultural situations can also
engender fear. You might, for example, have greater fear of saying something that will prove offensive or of revealing
your own prejudices.
Dealing with apprehension
 Reversing The Factors That Cause Apprehension:
1. The new and the different situations factor: Since public speaking is relatively a new experience to most of
us, it’s a situation that is likely to generate anxiety . As the novelty of the situation is reduced , the anxiety
is also reduced and wear off and the speaker becomes less nervous. Gaining experiences in a wide variety
of public speaking situations will help you reduce their newness and thereby reduce the fear.
2. Subordinate factor: for example when you think less of yourself, and think you can compete with the
other speaker cause hey are more better, the anxiety increases. Thinking positively about yourself and
being thorough in your preparation are helpful techniques for reducing this particular cause of anxiety.
3. Conspicuousness factor: when you feel you are the centre of the attention the audience, may increase your
apprehension. Realizing that you only one speaker of many speaker may reduce this feeling of
conspicuousness.
4. The lack of similarity factor: the feeling that you have little in common with you audience , may make the
speaker feel that the listeners do not emphasize with you and so you may become anxious. Try
emphasizing The commonalities you share with your audience while planning for the speech as well as
when you are in the actual speech.
5. The prior history of apprehension factor: this factor is likely to increase anxiety and a kind of spiral may
be established; you think of all the failing experiences you had and be scared of that happening again in
the current performance. Your objective is to prevent this by building up positive public speaking
experiences.
 Cognitive Restructuring and Performance visualization:
The assumption of this approach is that your own disbeliefs cause apprehension. For example when the
speaker sets himself some unachievable goals and logically fear failure . This fear of failure is at the
foundation of apprehension
1. Cognitive restructuring advises the speaker to subtitle the irrational believes with more rational ones. This
process my go like this: unrealistic beliefs give rise to anxiety because you know you can never achieve
these unrealistically high goals and that you will fail at some point. Maintain realistic expectations for
yourself and your audience. You don’t have to be perfect. Be the best you can. Focus on meeting the
realistic goals you have set yourself.
2. A special type of cognitive restructuring is performance visualization : in that you work toward developing
a positive attitude and appositive self-perception by visualizing yourself in the role of an effective public
speaker. Once you have done that you devote attention to modelling your performance on that of this
effective speaker.
 Systematic Desensitization: The systematic desensitization is a technique for dealing with a variety of
fears, including these ones connected to public speaking. The idea is to create a hierarchy of behaviours
leading up to the desired but feared behaviour. You’d begin at the bottom of this hierarchy of behaviours
mentally over a period of days until you could clearly visualize asking a question in class without any
uncomfortable anxiety. Once you accomplished this move to the next level and repeat the same process,
until your reach the last one
 Skill acquisition: acquiring specific skills and techniques gives the speaker greater control over
apprehension . It also helps to increase speaking effectiveness. These are some useful techniques:
1. Prepare and practice Thoroughly: much of the fear that the speaker experience is a fear of impending
failure. Adequate and even extra preparation will lessen thoughts of failure and the accompanying
apprehension.
2. Gain Experience: with experience. The initial fears and anxieties give way to feelings of control, comfort,
and eventually, pleasure. Experience will prove that you can speak effectively in public despite your fears
and anxieties.
3. Move About and Breath Deeply: Physical activity erases or lessens apprehension. Using a presentation aid
will temporary divert attention from you and will allow you to get rid of the excess energy. Deep breathing
relaxes the body. By breathing deeply few times before speaking you will sense your body relax. This will
help you over come your initial fear of getting out of your comfort zone and walking to he front of the
room.
4. Avoid Chemicals And Tension Relievers: avoid any chemical means of reducing apprehension. Because its
likely to create problems rather than reducing them. for example, the chemicals might impair the ability to
remember the parts of the speech.
Developing Confidence
Confidence separate the effective from the ineffective public speaking. As it separates the experienced speaker from
the one who suffers from apprehension.
 Prepare thoroughly: preparation is probably the major factor in instilling confidence in a speaker as it is in
reducing apprehension; the more you know about your topic and your audience, the more confidence you will
project.
 Familiarize yourself with the Public Speaking Situation: getting familiarized with the arrangement of the room
in which you will address. Familiarity with any situation , in general, increase your ability to control it.
 Develop the Desire to Communicate: replacing any thoughts of fear with thoughts of control. Even Replacing
self-critical statements with thoughts of confidence. Lets the speaker operate a more positively and confident
experience.
 Rehearse: Rehearsing your speech and its presentation will give you the sense of control over it . Therefore,
having an increased confidence. For that, The speaker must rehearse his speech out loud, in positive attitude, and
in full confidence.
 Engage in Self-Affirmation: the way your talk to yourself will influence what you think of yourself. That why its
helpful for the speaker to engage in self-affirmation, and he should try to tell himself some encouraging phrases.
 Project Your Confidence: throughout the speech the speaker should project his confidence; make the audience see
how confident and fully-controlled speaker he is.
 Develop a Communicator Self-image: build your positive qualities by acting as if you already have them. Acting
confident will go a long way toward actually increasing your confidence. that takes three steps: 1. acting as you're
confident. 2. you come to think that you are actually confident. 3. you become confident.