Personal Report of Communication Anxiety: Analysis and Strategies

This report analyzes a student's personal communication anxiety based on a PRCA assessment score of 73, indicating average communication anxiety. The student expresses surprise at the score, as they generally feel confident in their communication skills except when speaking in front of an audience. The report details the anxiety experienced during public speaking and the strategies provided to manage it. The student found the suggestions helpful, particularly those focusing on managing expectations and practicing public speaking. The student plans to implement these strategies, including practicing speeches and seeking feedback from peers, to overcome their communication anxiety and improve their public speaking skills. The report emphasizes the importance of recognizing that nervousness is common and can be channeled into better preparation and performance.

Communication Anxiety Report and Analysis
Communication is a skill which is required in every aspect of life, whether it be in personal or
professional life. The score of my PRCA assessment is 73 which suggests that I have average
communication anxiety. I am a little surprised with the score since I always thought that I
have good communication skill, and the least communication anxiety. Since the score of 73 is
very close to 80, above which the traits of high communication anxiety are evident, hence I
got surprised with the result. The trend suggests that I am closer to having high
communication anxiety. I have seldom got nervous while conversing in a group or in a
meeting. Likewise, I am relaxed while talking to a new acquaintance as well. The only place
where I get anxious and nervous is when I have to speak in front of an audience or deliver a
speech on stage. In such scenarios, I usually get cold feet and go blank. The fact that the eyes
of all the people in the audience are stuck on me makes me nervous.
The suggestions provided were great help in getting over my fear and anxiety of public
speaking. The various strategies mentioned helped me to overlook my anxiety and instead
helped me to focus on the problem and solve it methodically. Usually, I tend to be very harsh
on myself and build a lot of expectations. However, all these tend to be creating undue
pressure and make me more anxious. The various suggestions were some of the insights
which we usually miss out when we are nervous. Generally, everyone have been nervous
before speaking in public one or two times in their life and it is not unusual to feel in such a
way. Further, being nervous helps one to prepare well for the audience and their expectations.
Thus, they are well turned up for the event and deliver a speech which is well received by the
audience. Additionally, all the mistakes that I make on the stage are going to make me
prepare for the bigger challenges in life. The errors are going to help me to improve my
public speaking skills and I will also learn from them.
There were few points which I believe will be instrumental in helping me overcome my fear
of stage while giving a speech in front of an audience. As mentioned in the strategy ‘Manage
your expectations’, we should think that it is okay to be nervous and anxious when giving a
speech on the stage. The particular strategy will be helpful in keeping me calm and composed
and not getting worked up while I prepare for my speech delivery. Another strategy which
will help me to improve on my public speaking skill is to ‘Practice!’. As they say practice
makes an art perfect, hence, if I practice and rehearse my speech before delivering them in
front of any audience it will help me to overcome my fear of facing the audience. I would
urge my peers to listen to my speech and tell me the errors that I am making and would
diligently work on that. Additionally, I would also rehearse my speech in front of the
audience which will help me to work on my body language and eye contact. Hopefully with
the help of these strategies I will overcome the communication anxiety that I have in the
present.