The Problem Of Public Speaking Anxiety
According to Chapman University Surveys (a survey conducted by the university), the fear that you will be speaking in front of a large group of people is the number one phobia. This is slightly higher than the fear of dying in second position, and insects and snakes coming in third.
Public speaking is not something that comes naturally to anyone. Each person must undergo challenges, training and learning processes. The challenge of overcoming public speaking anxiety is one of them. Raja said in his study that people who are forced to speak to an audience and become the center of attention experience anxiety and fear. This can lead to nausea and sweating.
Public Speaking Anxiety is also called Glossophobia. It is a type of social anxiety that occurs when a person anticipates an oral presentation. Public speaking can be caused by many factors. There are many reasons that can lead to public speaking anxiety.
Grewee also found in his study that teaching PSA to students will not just help ease the pain of PSA, but it will also teach them how to handle PSA when they are outside of class.
Student council leaders are the students who engage in the most public speaking. They are required to engage with students in order to foster transparency and good government. Baker also states student leaders are required to deliver numerous talks both to large and small groups of audiences. If the leaders become anxious about public speaking they will lose their connection with students.
As a final note, I’d like to mention that researchers think that the study of how anxiety affects the public-speaking performance of college students leaders of OMSC would raise the interest of academics in the importance to build confidence and improve public-speaking ability of students.
