Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety

This assignment delves into the topic of public speaking anxiety and provides various solutions for overcoming it. It examines the psychological aspects of anxiety, the impact of cultural differences on communication, and practical techniques for improving public speaking skills. The assignment emphasizes the importance of developing strong communication skills, understanding diverse cultural perspectives, and utilizing effective strategies to manage anxiety during presentations.

Running head: BUSINESS COMMMUNICATION
Business Communication
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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The importance of effective communication in human life can never be overstated. A
person who feels confident while speaking, and can assert his views as and when required, can
lead a successful life, both in the personal as well as the professional domain. Hence, I felt that it
has become extremely important to analyse my communication skills and identify any
communication issues, if present me, that I need to work on (Evans et al., 2017). I have realized
that effective communication skills will not only help me later in my professional life, right from
getting selected in an interview to leading and managing my team at workplace, but will also
help me interact effectively with my professor, friends and family members. Considering the
importance of analysing my communication skills, I undertook communication self-assessment
test with the help of five distinct diagnostic tests, the results and findings of which have been
discussed below, along with the action plans that I need to follow in order to overcome the
identified communication issues (Leathers & Eaves, 2015).
The first communication diagnostic tool used by me is the Talkaholic Scale
Communication Questionnaire. This specific questionnaire helps to understand if the person
taking the test is a Talkaholic or not. Although the word is often used in a derogatory way, it
should be remembered that a positive result in this test does imply that the individual is an
effective communicator. The whole idea of the test is to determine if the speaker is able to
communicate effectively in presence of others or not, and being a Talkaholic is quite different
from being talkative. A Talkaholic neither uses offensive words, nor does he talk too much, but
knows how to express his views and ask questions, as and when he requires to do. Accordingly,
on undertaking the test, I found out that I scored 27, which implies I am moderately talkaholic.
The result suggested that I communicate with people as and when required, and i do not have the
tendency to engage myself in conversations, which can be avoided by me. I am not verbal that

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way, and prefer to remain quiet, unless the situation arises which demands me to express and
exchange my views. The result also suggested that I am not capable of dominating conversations,
and my apathy towards initiating conversations can also be seen as a symptom of my behavioural
shyness.
The second test that I undertook is called Listening Diagnostic Pre-test, which intends to
evaluate the listening skills of the speaker. As it is a known fact, listening is one of the most
important features characterizing the communication style of a good communicator. A person
should not merely talk but necessarily be ready to embrace the perspectives of other people.
Accordingly, after taking the test, I found out that I scored 75 which shows that I am not a bad
listener at all, even if I am not an effective listener. I usually prefer to avoid boring speech
sessions, which is quite normal for anyone. However, the results of the questionnaire clearly
suggested that I put efforts to appreciate the speech and perspectives of the speaker even if he
does not express views and opinions I subscribe to. Even though I may not be able to appreciate
the perspectives expressed by the speaker, I never tend to get up and neither levae the
conversation, nor do I feel bored in a remarkable way. In other words, I do possess effective
listening skills not merely because I remain present at the time of the speech even if I do not like
it, but essentially because I actively listen to and engage myself in the conversation.
Although verbal communication receives most of the attention, non-verbal
communication is no less important to be considered. The way a person interacts, the gestures he
uses and the body movements of him, can say much about his communication approach and
style. In order to evaluate my non-verbal communication skills, I undertook the Non-verbal
Immediacy Scale Self Report. As per the findings of the report, my non-verbal communication
skills are perfect. I always maintain a relaxed position, never frown or exhibit any negative facial

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expression, that can be considered to be offensive. This test, just like the above two reports,
confirmed that I have no communication issue in this field as well, as far as my body gestures,
facial expressions, eye contact, postures and voice tone are concerned.
It is not sufficient to be able to communicate with people and listen to them, but it is
equally important to strike effective and free conversation with the people coming from foreign
locations or belonging to different cultural groups. Accordingly, in order to examine my inter-
cultural communication skills, I undertook the Personal Report on Intercultural
Communication Apprehension (PRICA) that helps in showing the degree of intercultural
competence of the student in the communication process. This is the test where I identified my
first communication issue, as the findings suggested that I am not competent enough to engage in
conversations that involve speakers from different cultural backgrounds of the society.
Accordingly, the test showed that I feel nervous and tend to get anxious when I engage in
conversation with people of distinct cultural backgrounds. The inability to understand a new
language, along with lack of comprehension of understanding the cultural norms and ideological
beliefs of the person from an alien culture, creates anxiety in me, and my thought often gets
jumbled up within, while I try to express my opinions before the person. My low score of 42
suggested that I may have problems in working in a diverse workplace owing to cross-cultural
communication problems.
I also undertook the Public Speaking Anxiety Test to understand if I get anxious at the
time of delivering communication or not, and I scored 98, suggesting I have speech anxiety
issue. After undertaking the test, I discovered that I experience intense fear and communication
apprehension while or prior to delivering a presentation, and also often experience stage fright.

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While delivering a speech in the public, I often experience nervousness and anxiety, as I feel that
I am in a subordinate position, or that the audience may critique me as well.
I would like to mention here that recently I had experienced am intercultural
communication problem, as I met a Japanese client at workplace. Since I belong to the
Australian culture, I tend to behave in a professional way, and refrain from disclosing personal
experience in a professional area. However, the client was from Asia, and having belonged to a
collectivist culture, he tended to strike a conversation with me about my personal life. However,
owing to my ineffective intercultural issue, I miserably failed to engage in an effective
communication. Much before undertaking the anxiety assessing test, I was aware that I had
public speaking anxiety. I had a nerve-wrecking presentation experience, where I had to
communicate the proposed business project to my boss, and the very sight of hierarchically
superior employees made me nervous. Most of the time, I murmured and stammered, and my
superiors claimed that they could not make any sense of the professional presentation.
Having identified the two communication issues, I have identified through the diagnostic
tools, I have decided to conduct a literature review of these two communication flaws and
discuss the critical perspectives of the scholars and critics. Research suggests that language
difference is the major challenge impeding the smooth flow of effective communication
(Fujimori et al., 2014). Even if the speaker knows the language of the listener, he still may be
incapable of striking meaningful conversation as the very same word may have different
meanings and implications in different cultures (Kinloch & Metge, 2014). Besides, the difference
in non-verbal communication approach often leaves the spake from another culture confused or
even prejudiced. For example, a Latin American businessperson may tend o stand closer to his
business partner while a North American businessperson will avoid the same. Again, a Chinese

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communicator may prefer to engage in personal conversation with his business partner, but a
German businessman will be offended by such “non-professional” conduct. Critics suggest that
the inability to comprehend a foreign language and the challenges encountered in deciphering the
body language and non-verbal discourse of the foreign person account for ineffective
intercultural communication problem, in most of the cases (Warren, 2017). It is equally
important to state here that often people experience cross-cultural communication problems
simply because they develop negative stereotypes and prejudices as a result of ethnocentrism,
which compels one to believe that his own culture is superior to the culture of the listener
(Bochner, 2013). Once prejudices, smooth flow of effective communication will necessarily be
impeded.
Again, at the same time, it is also important to examine the academic literature and past
researches to understand the problem of public speaking anxiety as a serious communication
issue (Glassman et al., 2014). Public Speaking Anxiety, also referred to as PSA, is defined as a
sense of fear panic and anxiety as experienced by the speaker while delivering speech before an
audience (Priestley et al., 2015). Critics suggest that PSA commonly occurs when the speaker is
well-aware that the people sitting in the audience are superior to him, in terms of position or
intelligence, which creates a sense of fear and possible failure, that lead to their communication
failure. 76% of the respondents in a research claimed that they experience public speech fear,
and the fear of delivering speech in the public has even outranked the common fears of mice,
height and visit to a dental clinic as well (Nazligul et al., 2017). Further, research has indicated
that there are some common reasons behind communicators experiencing public speech anxiety
(Mesri et al., 2017). First of all, the communicator does not regularly require delivering a public
presentation each day, and hence he often fails to communicate spontaneously on the special

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occasions (Castillo, 2016). Often a sense of awareness about the speaker’s inferior position, in
terms of designation or skills impedes his ability to express his ideas openly, leading to the
anxiety. Most importantly, in most of the cases, the speaker becomes unusually self-focused as
he finds the audience either blankly staring at him or ignoring him, both of which affects his
confidence level in a negative way.
After having identified two major communication issues of mine, and having thoroughly
researched about the causes and implications of the same, I have decided to adopt an effective
communication plan that can help me overcome these communication challenges. My action
plan comprises of the actions I am going to undertake for the coming six months. Each of these
strategies have been adopted as per the SMART goals, so that each of them is specific,
measurable, attainable, reliable and time-specific. I have also created a Gantt chart to explain the
time-duration of each action so as to show within what time exactly I will be able to accomplish
the objectives.
First of all, in order to overcome the problem of poor cross-cultural communication
issues, I will enrol myself in a cultural training course that is expected to boost my knowledge of
the ideals and norms of the people of different cultures, and appreciate the cultural differences.
However, mere training will be insufficient unless the same is accompanied by practical
experience. This is exactly the reason, why I will also participate in at least three different cross-
cultural communication workshops that will help in improving my cross-cultural communication
experience, as I will be made to interact with people of different cultures and my communication
approach will be supervised by the communication experts (Samovar et al., 2014). Above all,
the inability to understand a foreign language often impedes effective cross-cultural
communication, and hence I will alos enrols myself in some foreign language learning courses.

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Since it is impossible for me to develop knowledge regarding all the international languages, I
will enrol myself in some of the specific language learning courses such as Spanish, French and
Russian, which are relevant to my business needs.
Next, in order to address the problem of my public speaking anxiety, I have chalked a
few strategies which have been discussed here. First of all, I will join a public speech class that
will provide me practical strategies to speak more confidently before the public. Next, I will
practice delivering speech at home, by writing a script, and practicing the speech before the
mirror and few of my close friends and family members. I will ask them to evaluate my
communication approach and point out, any flaw, if any. I will observe my own gestures, body
languages and body movements in the mirror that will help me in self-evaluation as well. I will
also read books about public speech that will help to inspire me and boost my confidence in
delivering speech before the live audience. I will buy and read books like Eloquence in Public
Speaking by Dr. Kenneth McFarland (Panayiotou et al., 2017).
Action Plan (Gantt Chart):
Action Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6
Cultural
Training
Course
Cross-cultural
Communication
Workshops
Foreign
Language

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Learning
Courses
Public Speech
Class
Practice Speech
Delivery at
Home
Buy and Read
Inspirational
Books

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Reference List:
Bochner, S. (Ed.). (2013). Cultures in contact: Studies in cross-cultural interaction (Vol. 1).
Elsevier.
Castillo, L. O. (2016). Colored Visuals: Their Implications to Public Speaking Anxiety (Doctoral
dissertation).
Evans, D. R., Hearn, M. T., Uhlemann, M. R., & Ivey, A. E. (2017). Essential interviewing: A
programmed approach to effective communication. Nelson Education.
Fujimori, M., Shirai, Y., Asai, M., Kubota, K., Katsumata, N., & Uchitomi, Y. (2014). Effect of
communication skills training program for oncologists based on patient preferences for
communication when receiving bad news: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of
clinical oncology, 32(20), 2166-2172.
Glassman, L. H., Herbert, J. D., Forman, E. M., Bradley, L. E., Izzetoglu, M., Ruocco, A. C., &
Goldstein, S. P. (2014). Near-infrared spectroscopic assessment of in vivo prefrontal
activation in public speaking anxiety: A preliminary study. Psychology of Consciousness:
Theory, Research, and Practice, 1(3), 271.
Kinloch, P., & Metge, J. (2014). Talking past each other: problems of cross cultural
communication. Victoria University Press.
Leathers, D. G., & Eaves, M. (2015). Successful nonverbal communication: Principles and
applications. Routledge.

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Mesri, B., Niles, A. N., Pittig, A., LeBeau, R. T., Haik, E., & Craske, M. G. (2017). Public
speaking avoidance as a treatment moderator for social anxiety disorder. Journal of
behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry, 55, 66-72.
Nazligul, M. D., Yilmaz, M., Gulec, U., Gozcu, M. A., O’Connor, R. V., & Clarke, P. M. (2017,
September). Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety of Software Engineers Using Virtual
Reality Exposure Therapy. In European Conference on Software Process
Improvement (pp. 191-202). Springer, Cham.
Panayiotou, G., Karekla, M., Georgiou, D., Constantinou, E., & Paraskeva-Siamata, M. (2017).
Psychophysiological and self-reported reactivity associated with social anxiety and public
speaking fear symptoms: Effects of fear versus distress. Psychiatry Research.
Priestley, J., Moghaddam, N., & Dawson, D. (2015). ACT for public speaking anxiety: a case
series study of effects on self-reported, implicit, Imaginal and in-vivo performance
outcomes.
Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., McDaniel, E. R., & Roy, C. S. (2014). Intercultural
communication: A reader. Cengage Learning.
Warren, T. L. (2017). Cross-cultural Communication: Perspectives in theory and practice.
Routledge.