Question

When giving a speech, Ethan experiences high levels of communication apprehension. What would you suggest that he do to help reduce his apprehension?

Answer 1

Explanation:  Communication apprehension is in fact nervousness, fear, anxiety that occur during public speaking, lectures, because there is a fear of evaluation of our performance by listeners, audience, students, as well as lack of confidence. This is a complex situation where there may be no cause for fear or anxiety but lack of confidence causes this feeling, and also the importance of public speaking can cause our anxiety because of the expectation that, for example, the professional public will evaluate our speech, etc. Then various forms of "responding" to this situation occur, like butterflies in the stomach, or the panic that causes a "fight or flight".

Communication apprehension can be reduced by practising speech before an appearance in front of a mirror, having a good night's sleep before speaking, breathing in several times deep before speaking. Also during the speech itself should focus on the listeners, body movements pre-planned can contribute to self-confidence, as well as some adequate joke that will relax the whole situation. Even if possible, the speech should be practised the day before the appearance in front of an audience (not the real one) that will serve to reduce anxiety. This practice can also be applied to students to practice to reduce anxiety by performing and speaking, by performing to peers. Virtual reality can also help create a virtual audience, generated in a computer, and thus practice speech and appearance. Failure to do so may require the help of a specialist and practice some of the techniques for managing and reducing stress. Finally, the use of certain medicines to reduce stress can help.