Executive Summary

Glossophobia is the fear of speaking in public settings. People with an anxiousness of public speaking likely either exhibit the phobia or similar symptoms related to the phobia. The purpose of this report is to find and understand ways to deal with public speaking anxieties as it is a common fear among the general population. This report focuses on defining glossophobia, or more commonly referred to as public speaking anxiety (PSA), and elaborating on strategies/tips for overcoming this phobia.
Symptoms of public speaking anxiety can be feeling intense anxiety prior to, or at the thought of having to verbally communicate to a group of people. Another symptom would be feeling physical distress, nausea, or feelings of panic in some cases. Possessing good public speaking skills is a very important skill one can possess and having this skill to speak efficiently and effectively to an audience gives a person numerous advantages throughout their lifetime.
This report is to help our audience understand the different ways of overcoming PSA in hopes of achieving a better communication process during presentations, work environments, or any situation that may require speaking in a public setting. This report focuses on six strategies to accomplish this: 1) preparation, which focuses on preparation of the speech and content before the actual speech; 2) know your audience, which helps for a better communication process of the message; 3) creating an outline, which is beneficial to organizing the message’s flow; 4) evaluating the outline, helps to structure the message and the persuasiveness of the message; 5) strategies for presenting, which discusses indirect versus direct approaches of delivering the message; and lastly 6) using visual aids to communication the message non-verbally.
Introduction
Anxiety of public speaking can come from a variety of different sources. The anxiety can be a result of past experiences with public speaking, it can come from phobias dealing with public settings, and it can also be a result of an individual’s upbringing which nurtured an anxious reaction to public speaking. The problem at hand thus becomes developing strategies to overcome that anxiety. Through a variety of different methods such as taking medication or using cognitive behavioral and exposure therapy individuals can limit their anxieties toward speaking in public. The other problem is to find useful tips for becoming a better presenter. Prior preparation along with other techniques such as outlining, the use of visual aids, and proper body language go a long way toward becoming an efficient presenter. Finding efficient strategies for becoming a better presenter also help in reducing the anxiety of public speaking.
The purpose of the study is to help find ways to deal with public speaking, as it is something many people need help with. Speaking in a public setting is an underrated skill that can be very important throughout different stages of one’s life. Being able to comfortably and effectively communicate whether it be in a business setting when speaking to co-workers, or simply in a social setting, is an important skill to possess.
Developing strategies for overcoming anxiousness with speaking in a public setting is not as straightforward as it seems. The causes are not the same for everyone who deals with the issue, therefore, everyone requires different strategies that help. Finding strategies is limited to a more general guideline, rather than a specific individual guideline. The best manner to present tips and strategies, therefore, is to provide a general concept that can be broken down into sections where one can see what they resonate with more.
Research on this topic is conducted through journal and trade publications. Research is intended to find multiple things regarding the topic. One aspect, is to find a conceptual understanding of why an anxiousness is exhibited, to further understand what can be done to help. The other aspect involves finding tips and guidelines that help one become a better presenter.
Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking
Glossophobia is the fear of speaking in public settings. People with an anxiousness of public speaking likely either exhibit the phobia or similar symptoms. The purpose of the study is to help find ways to deal with public speaking, as it is something many people need help with. Speaking to a public is an underrated skill that can be very important throughout different stages of one’s life. Being able to comfortably and effectively communicate whether it be in a business setting when speaking to co-workers, or simply in a social setting, is an important skill to possess.
Developing strategies for overcoming anxiousness with speaking in a public setting is not as straightforward as it seems. The causes are not the same for everyone who deals with the issue, therefore, everyone requires different strategies that may help ease this phobia. Finding strategies is limited to a more general guideline, rather than a specific one for all guideline. The best manner to present tips and strategies, therefore, is to provide a general concept that can be broken down into sections where one can see what they resonate with more.
Research on this topic is conducted through journal and trade publications. Research is intended to find multiple things regarding the topic. One aspect, is to find a conceptual understanding of why an anxiousness is exhibited, to further understand what can be done to help. The other aspect involves finding tips and guidelines that help one become a better presenter.
“Public speaking anxiety (PSA) is a specific subtype of communication-based anxiety whereby individuals experience physiological arousal (e.g., increased heart rate), negative self-focused cognitions (e.g., “I’m concerned I’ll appear incompetent”), and/or behavioral concomitants (e.g., trembling) in response to an expected or actual presentation” (Bodie, 2010). Public speaking anxiety (PSA) or glossophobia is a phobia many of us suffer from throughout our lives. Public speaking anxiety is basically the fear of speaking before a group of people. This fear can get to be so great that it can become a phobia whereas even though speaking before a group is not dangerous it can cause unreasonable fear that provokes anxiety. Public speaking anxiety is very common amongst people and some may possess more severe anxiety than others. This fear can range from being in a classroom when a student is praying for the teacher not to call on him to answer the question, to the fear of actually having to present a speech in front of a group of people. Some symptoms of public speaking anxiety can be feeling intense anxiety prior to, or at the thought of having to verbally communicate to a group of people. Another symptom would be feeling physical distress, nausea, or feelings of panic in some cases. Public speaking anxiety (PSA) can really have an awful impact in one’s life.
“High levels of PSA can result in poor speech preparation and decision-making and can negatively affect performance” (Bodie, 2010). Throughout life, presentations are a very important part of being a student and sometimes it is a part of work responsibilities. Possessing good public speaking skills is actually very important and can work to your advantage throughout life. Having this phobia can make it difficult for people to succeed and to keep being successful in life. For example, take a college student who has to take their first communications class and has a severe case of public speaking anxiety, it would be very difficult for this student to get a good grade if they let their fear get in the way of getting up in front of the class and presenting their speech. This anxiety could be as vast as to be able to cause the student to stutter a lot, to not be able to keep eye contact, or to not be able to get up in front of the class. And if they did so happen to get up there, it would be hard for them to present their speech how they would have wanted to. This in terms would affect the grade they get in the course and it still would not help them with their phobia as that class is supposed to. In the work place it is always important to have good communication skills especially if you are trying to move up and succeed in your workplace. Yet, many people still knowing good communication is important still do not do much to try and help their fear of speaking. “From studies focused on communication apprehension, Richmond and McCroskey estimated that approximately “70% of the general public reports PSA” (Dwyer & Davidson, 2012).
Karen Kangas Dwyer and Marlina M. Davidson reported a study in which they try to compare their results to a study’s results appearing in the London Sunday Times in 1973. In 1973 the Bruskin Associate’s findings said, “… that the largest number of Americans, 41% of those surveyed by a team of market researchers listed speaking before a group as their greatest fear” (Dwyer & Davidson, 2012). According to the article written on the London Sunday Times, “people fear public speaking more than death,” and to imitate this study Dwyer and Davidson decide to survey college students who have barely started their communication course. This study consisted of 815 students who were asked to check all fears that applied to them; the second question asked that they rank their top three fears from that same list. The study shows that public speaking was selected as one of the most common fears like any other fear, including death. This study had over 20% more people select fear of public speaking as a common fear than in the study in 1977. However, when participants were asked to rank their fears, most students selected death as their top fear. But not surprisingly, speaking before a group was the runner-up. Dwyer and Davidson think that the original 1973 Bruskin fears study was conducted in a way where they did not ask the participants to rank their fears or to select their top fears. In such a way making it seem like the fear of speaking before a group was greater than the fear of death. Even though the fear of speaking before a group was not greater than that of death, it does come right after death which shows how this phobia is a big deal to many. But, there are ways that speaking anxiety can be treated so that it’s easier to control and to overcome.

Glossophobia is a common fear for not only students but for many people in general. It is said that this anxiety can interfere with the delivery of the speech and can influence a student performance in a negative way. However, there are treatments to control this anxiety, which can include a combination of medication and talk therapy. There are certain types of therapy that can really aid this anxiety people put on themselves, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapy. Even though speech class in college can be somewhat helpful, it is always better to further look into ways that can help control the anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapy are therapies that can teach you how to control anxiety levels, stop worrisome thoughts, and conquer ones fears. Cognitive therapy examines how negative thoughts contribute to one’s anxiety. Behavior therapy examines how one behaves and reacts in situations that trigger anxiety, which can help understand where the problem is. There are also things like energy psychology (EP), which is a treatment that works with mind-body connections. “EP interventions often use acupressure. When these acupressure points are activated, they quickly signal the brain to decrease psychological arousal” (Fitch, et al, 2011). With EP helping people decrease their anxiety, this then enhances the quality of their speeches. Once you can start to control and get rid of this anxiety becoming confident with speaking before a group of people comes easy.
Preparation
Mark twain once stated, “There are only two types of speakers in the world: 1) The nervous, and 2) Liars.” Many can agree the fear of public speaking remains as the number one phobia across the word. While fear of public speaking is common, it leads to lack of success when individuals do nothing to overcome it. Today, the anxiety of public speaking keeps many individuals of different ages from speaking up in both business and social settings. In business, effective communication skills are critical; throughout all organization individuals exchange thousands of proposals and presentations almost every day. However, many fail to meet professional business standards in meetings when they have ideas and progress to share but are held back by the fear of speaking to a crowd of people. This not only affects them as a person in a business setting but as well in a social setting allowing them not to grow as a person and building new beneficial relationships. In order to be a successful public speaker one must learn many tactics before presenting such as preparing, being clear, doing research, outlining, using body language and visual aids.
Know your Audience
For many, preparing for a public presentation may be as difficult as delivering the speech itself. Public speaking can be a difficult process but in order to deliver a presentation and receive a positive outcome the speaker must prepare. Therefore, as he/she prepares to write a speech he/she must decide what they want to accomplish. In order to make the research phase of the topic useful, the speaker should in addition to researching the subject he/she must also consider learning about the audience and the event. This can be done by gathering information to provide all 5W2H information (who, what, where, when, why, how and how much). According to studies most messages have three distinct purposes. First, all messages must inform. Second, most messages must be able to persuade the audience. Third, all messages should build trust between the messenger and the audience. Therefore, in order to deliver an effective presentation the speaker should focus on what the purpose of a speech is. First, all messages must inform; in order to deliver a message the first step is to research who will be the audience to try to understand their unique frame of interest. Will it be business leaders, support staff, students or government officers? What do they know or think about the topic? What would you like them to know about the topic? As for the event, will it be indoors, outdoors, a luncheon, dinner, multi-day program? Who else will speak and on what topic? What is the purpose of the event? As a speaker we must analyze the audience’s basic nature, personality, character, objectives and professional goals. Other factors like personal information: age, cultural background, educational background, interest, hobbies and values can be useful as well. Second, most messages must be able to persuade the audience. The following step of the research phase is the audience’s knowledge on the subject message. “Focus on how you want the audience to be impacted and how to effectively do that” (Alter, 2010). The speaker should reflect on how much the audience knows about the subject and how they feel about it. Do they have a neutral, positive or negative interest toward the subject? Conclude if the message will be interesting and useful to them, or will they just ignore it and put it on the side. The audience will always ask the WIIFM question: “What’s in it for me?” According to William H Baker, author of Writing & Speaking for Business, the WIIFM question implies both the cognitive and affective parts of each message. The cognitive relates to the rational and logical aspects, like time savings or money savings. While the affective relates to the emotional and psychological aspects such as damaged social reputation or improved self-esteem. Since most cases audiences regularly consists of a number of individuals each with different goals, ideas and perspectives a perfect presentation should be able to provide the expectations and needs of all the different individuals. The third step is all messages should build trust between the messenger and the audience. Finally after the messenger does their research on the audience and message they can now focus the way they perceive themselves to others. The emotional aspect of the audience toward the speaker’s character can impact the effectiveness of their delivery and overall performance. The speaker must investigate how the audience feels about their character and what they know about them. A speaker must ask himself or herself does this crowd of individuals believe me, like me or trust me? In some cases the audience may feel one way about the message but another way about the messenger. To gain the audience trust the speaker must be credible, be generous, show them he/she wants the best for them, respect them and show empathy. Once the emotional state of the audience is studied and a strategy to gain full trust has been made, the speaker should modify his/her message to be presented as clearly as possible. According to William H Baker, “communication is both a function and a process in organization.” Communication is the most controlling tool we have for business and personal relations. Today, in order to be effective it is important to be clear as possible when delivering a message to a crowd of people. Delivering the message in a clear manner is what divides a good speaker from a bad speaker. Being clear and getting the point across creates a positive outcome. The purpose of delivering a message clearly is to allow the audience to comprehend the speakers overall message and point. The speaker wants every single individual to be able to understand what he/she is talking about and interpret it correctly. In order to create a clear message for everyone to comprehend the speaker must simply clarify the purpose of the presentation, keep the language simple, explain the information being presented and always keep the structure of your presentation organized.
The foremost step to reduce anxiety before a presentation is to be prepared. Before a person can explain the material to a large group, they need to become knowledgeable enough in the subject to explain the 5W2H (who, where, what, why, when, how, how much). To help a presenter answer the 5W2H, an outline should be created in order to provide structure for the presenter, while also allowing them to focus their thoughts on communicating effectively with the audience. The outline should be used to brainstorm potential ideas and should include important points the presenter is attempting to convey.
Creating an Outline
Upon preparing themselves, the speaker is able to choose from two types of outlines, a top-down or a bottom-up approach. A top-down approach begins with stating the main ideas first and then moving on to the details. A top-down approach is the preferred method if the main topics are known beforehand. A bottom-up outline first lists the details and then determines from the details the main ideas. This method is used if the speaker does not know the main ideas of their message.
Evaluate the Outline
The outline is a tool designed to provide structure, but the speaker should not have to follow the outline rigidly. Instead, the speaker should learn to develop use of extemporaneous communication in order to facilitate effective communication. In extemporaneous communication, the speaker can follow an outline as a framework, but will ultimately speak without having remembered the words verbatim. This communication method is much more effective than memorizing a prewritten speech, as it allows for the speaker to be flexible in their delivery while the prepared outline will allow them to easily transition to the next topic.
Engaging the audience through use of presentation techniques is also an effective tool. When stating the main points in a presentation, repetition will allow the audience to comprehend the message the speaker is communicating. Planning the presentation with the audience in mind will allow the presenter to answer WIIFM (What’s in it for me?) and successfully “pitch” their idea to the audience. As Neville-Neil (2010) notes, “A presentation should not be a one-way broadcasting of information but rather a conversation between the speaker and the audience.”
Strategies for Presenting
After preparing for the presentation through becoming knowledgeable in their message and developing an understanding for their audience, the speaker must prepare an effective strategy to deliver the message. “After all, both what you say and how you say it are important” (Baker, 2013). Depending on the speaker’s audience, they may wish to employ different types of techniques to appeal to the audience. For example, if the speaker is attempting to persuade the audience, then the speaker should apply an indirect approach and subtly lead to audience to their point of view. However, if the speaker is merely informing the audience on an issue and wants them to make their own decision, then the speaker will clearly state the main issue and then follow up with details.
To effectively appeal to the audience, the speaker should be able to appeal to the audience through logical reasoning and through proper utilization of pathos supporting “your arguments with information that touches the audience’s basic human emotions, such as happiness, sadness, pride of accomplishments, or frustrations” (Baker, 2013). Using a story is an effective method of the pathos strategy.
General Tips
“The slides should act as a prompt for you to explain the what, how, or why… but they are not lines on a teleprompter for you to read” (Neville-Neil, 2010). Neville-Neil describes the issue in using PowerPoint that most users with anxiety experience. PowerPoint is a useful tool, but it should have a limited amount of information, so that the speaker may provide a greater amount of detail in their presentation. “If you put just a few words on a slide, you will not be tempted to read it” (Schumacher, 2012).
“Make a point, give an example, and then tell a story. If you use that formula throughout your talk, it increases the odds that people will remember” (Schumacher, 2012). Telling a story is an effective technique in getting an idea across and allowing the audience to remember that idea through the story.
Visual Aids
Visual aids can be a powerful tool when giving a speech. Not only beneficial to convey information to the audience, there are several reasons why a presenter might look to include a visual aid in their presentation. Presenters can use visual aids during a presentation to help communicate the message better and to help ease public speaking anxieties he/she may have. Not only do visual aids help ease the presenter, but incorporating the right visual aid at the right time and in the right format can have a powerful effect on your audience. Once a topic has been chosen, searching for the right type of visual aids can help communicate the presenters message while relieving speech anxieties. Visual aids are an important part of your speech relating to nonverbal communication that the presenter can control. There are many different types of visual aids that can be used, such as objects, quotes, maps, data, etc., all which can be used to help reinforce the presenter’s message.
In addition to visual aids being an effective tool to use to help ease public speaking anxiety, there are other ways in which visual aids can help the presenter. One reason to use visual aids is the fact that visual aids can improve the audiences’ understanding and retention of the message. “When visual aids are added to presentations, listeners can absorb 35 percent more information—and over time they can recall 55 percent more” (Gardner, 2013). Incorporating a visual aid will stimulate the audience and draw attention away from yourself by helping to draw attention to the prop, chart, etc. The presenter can also take comfort in the fact that a using a visual aid in the right manner will help to translate their oral message more effectively and clearly. Using visual aids in a presentation can also help to serve as notes for the presenter, thus, functioning as an additional tool to comfort the presenter and relieve anxieties. It is important to remember, however, that visual aids serving as notes does not mean that the presenter’s speech should be overwhelmed by the visual aid. It is a crutch that the presenter can use to organize the flow and direction of the information being presented. Microsoft PowerPoint is probably the most commonly used form of a visual aid that also can serve as an outline for the presenter. If used well, a PowerPoint presentation may help guide the speech with bulleted points to serve as a way for the presenter to direct his/her speech. It is important to remember not to clutter the slides with too much information, but instead list the main points that are needed to convey information to the audience and then orally connect the points. Incorporating visual aids into a presentation can help facilitate eye contact and motion between the speaker and the audience. Often at times, a nervous presenter will not make eye contact with their audience because of public speaking anxieties. However, using a visual aid will help the presenter to be aware of his/her surroundings and the reason for using the visual aid. Practicing with the visual aid will help the presenter to explain the visual aid correctly and efficiently to the audience. A presenter must never turn their back to the audience when using a visual aid as this can damage their credibility and foster the beginning of miscommunications. Remembering to use eye contact with the audience during a presentation of a visual aid is crucial to see if the audience understands the visual aid, as well as strengthening the presenter’s credibility showing that he/she understands the aid and can communicate the message to the audience. Consistency between what is being said and what is being seen is crucial to the speaker’s credibility. Seeing is believing. Visual aids will help present information to the audience, and at the same time present some credibility to the presenter and their message. Useful visual aids such as data arranged in charts, graphs, etc., can help bring some reassurance to the presenter and the audience that that the presenter’s message is credible and accurate. Taking the time to organize information into a visual aid will show the audience that the presenter is knowledgeable about the information they are sending to the audience. The presenter must remember when constructing the visual aid that simplicity is a good design principle. Overloading the visual aid with too much information can damage credibility and confuse the receiver. Miscommunication of the message being presented can lead to an increase in anxiety for the presenter because their message may be skewed and/or damaging to their credibility.
Conclusion
In essence, the anxiety from public speaking is something that can be minimized. Through different mediums such as therapies dealing with the problem, anxiousness of speaking in public can be dealt with. Exposure therapies, for example, can be effective in having an individual face their fear of speaking in public causing them to learn to overcome it. Various tips are available to help become a better presenter as well. Through proper preparation, research, use of visual aids, use of outlines, and proper body language, for example, one can become a more efficient presenter. Extensive research has found that high confidence, which in this case comes from proper preparation, is effective in gaining credibility with an audience.
Since there is no specific guideline to use, it is recommended to research the general problem one has with speaking in public, and then narrowing down to arrive at a specific guideline. Ultimately, going into a presentation, one should be as confident as possible. Prior preparation cannot be emphasized enough when it comes to developing confidence going into a presentation. Speaking in public can seem like a daunting task, but it is a necessary and invaluable skill that needs to be developed References

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