3.1 What Is Communication Apprehension? – Stand up, Speak out

Tags

Top Highlights

• communication apprehension is the broad term that refers to an individual’s “fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons”

• ther people come to know who we are through our words.

• t consists of real individuals who you can connect with through your material.

• This psychological response, however, quickly becomes physical as our body responds to the threat the mind perceives

• f we understand more about the nature of the body’s responses to stress, we can better develop mechanisms for managing the body’s misguided attempts to help us cope with our fear of social judgment.

• Many different social situations, ranging from job interviews to dating to public speaking, can make us feel uncomfortable as we anticipate that we will be evaluated and judged by others.

• his psychological response, however, quickly becomes physical as our body responds to the threat the mind perceives

• the “flight or fight” response

• Yet instead of running away or fighting, all we need to do is stand and talk.

• But because communication apprehension is rooted in our minds, if we understand more about the nature of the body’s responses to stress, we can better develop mechanisms for managing the body’s misguided attempts to help us cope with our fear of social judgment.

• There are a number of physical sensations associated with communication apprehension. We might notice our heart pounding or our hands feeling clammy. We may break out in a sweat.

• Furthermore, we may become so anxious that we fear we will forget our name, much less remember the main points of the speech we are about to deliver.

• Circulation and breathing become more rapid so that additional oxygen can reach the muscles.

• Increased circulation causes us to sweat

• If we stay immobile behind a lectern, this hormonal urge to speed up may produce shaking and trembling.

• Even experienced, effective speakers and performers experience some communication apprehension

• ffective speakers have learned to channel their body’s reactions, using the energy released by these physiological reactions to create animation and stage presence.

• Most of this “folk” knowledge misleads us, directing our attention away from effective strategies for thinking about and coping with anxiety reactions.

• Good speakers can get nervous just as poor speakers do. Winston Churchill, for example, would get physically ill before major speeches in Parliament. Yet he rallied the British people in a time of crisis.

• Humor is some of the toughest material to deliver effectively because it requires an exquisite sense of timing.