OPTIMISING

PRESENTATION ANXIETY:

By
IMRAN SHAFIQ MALIK

S himranz
Skills
 WHAT IS PRESENTATION
ANXIETY?
 Anxiety
• At the prospect of giving presentations in front of other
people
• Whilst giving presentations in front of other people

 Linked with social phobia:

• Core fear of negative evaluation
1. Doing something humiliating
2. Showing signs of anxiety
 HIGH LEVELS OF STRESS CAN
BECOME DYSFUNCTIONAL

Good
Stress Stress
Perfor
mance

helps hinders
Average

Poor

Low Average High

Anxiety
 SOME OF THE POTENTIAL
SYMPTOMS

Emotional Behavioural
Anxiety, Anger Procrastinating
Irritability Using drugs to cope

Physiological Cognitive
Tense muscles “I‟m going to fail”
Pounding heart. Sweating “They‟ll think I speak funnily”
THE FIGHT/FLIGHT RESPONSE

When we feel threatened, our bodies are “hard-

wired” to either fight or run away

Many situations do not offer this choice

W H AT C A N I D O TO M A N A G E M Y
ANXIETY?

 Build good habits

• Balanced diet
• Exercise
• Good sleep patterns
 WHAT C A N I D O TO MA N A GE
MY A N X IETY ?

Keep a balanced lifestyle

• Meeting other demands (jobs, partners; kids etc)
• Recreation and relaxation without guilt
 W H AT C A N I D O TO M A N A G E
MY ANXIETY?

Relaxation
• Relaxation and positive visualisation
exercises
• Controlled breathing technique
WHAT CAN I DO TO MANAGE
MY ANXIETY?

Know what you are doing

• Preparation
• Rehearsal
• Body Language
• Dealing with mistakes
• Question time
 PREPARATION &
REHEARSAL
Preparation
• Research topic
• Visual aids & handouts
• Palm cards
• Familiarise yourself with equipment

Rehearsal
• Allows you to practise doing the presentation and to
anticipate where things can go wrong
• Observe others
• Obtain feedback (video, audience)
 BODY LANGUAGE

How do they do it?

Practical things: Eye contact, smiling, speech rate and tone,

talking rather than reading

Fake it until you make it: The „Illusion of transparency‟

 DEALING WITH MISTAKES

Oops…

It‟s out there. Don‟t pretend it isn‟t.

Acknowledge the mistake and move on.

Resist the urge to make constant reference to the

mistake.
 QUESTION TIME
Anticipate questions

Practise „standard‟responses to questions you don‟t know the

answer to:
• “That‟s a good point. I hadn‟t thought of that. Thanks for
raising it.”
• “Yes, that‟s a valid point, and research shows that the point
you‟ve raise is an important factor in this area.”
Throw the question out to the audience
WHAT CAN I DO TO MANAGE
MY ANXIETY?

Watch what you‟re thinking

• The link between thoughts and feelings
• Learning to identify unhelpful thoughts
• Cognitive restructuring
 UNHELPFUL THOUGHTS

“What if I‟m not able to answer a question? If I can‟t answer a question, I

won‟t look knowledgeable. Instead, I‟ll just look incompetent. The
people will wonder how I got the job and whether I‟m qualified for it.”
 HELPFUL THOUGHTS
“Well, this isn‟t my ideal way to spend my time. But, it‟s all part of the
job. I can stress about not knowing if I can answer questions, but people
will appreciate it more if I admit I don‟t know the answer than if I make

something up that is incorrect

. If I stress, I‟ll do worse, so breathe in…”

 ALL ABOUT UNHELPFUL
THOUGHTS…
Where do they come from?
How do I find them?
Unhelpful thoughts can reflect unhelpful
thinking styles:
• Black and white
• Catastrophising
• Shoulding and musting
• Jumping to conclusions
• Emotional reasoning (I feel… therefore I am…)
 HOW DO I MANAGE
UNHELPFUL THOUGHTS?

A Activating event
B Belief (& core belief)
C Consequence (emotion)
D Disputing the unhelpful core belief
E Emotion in response to disputation
WHAT CAN I DO TO MANAGE
MY ANXIETY?

Expose yourself to the feared situation

• Imaginable exposure
• Graded exposure to real situation
• Begin with low anxiety simulations
• Build through medium range anxiety
• Final result is the capacity to cope with
real situation with optimal anxiety
 GRADED EXPOSURE:
STEP BY STEP
1. Construct a „ladder‟
• Pick the most feared situation
• Break down the situation by varying WHO,
WHAT, HOW, AND HOW LONG
• Rank yourself.

2. Prepare to climb the ladder

• Focus on fact, not feeling.
• Start out small, work your way up
• Watch out for safety objects & rituals
 GRADED EXPOSURE:
STEP BY STEP
3. Climbing the ladder
• No escaping – remain until anxiety decreases
• Repetition

4. Climb to the top

• It won‟t happen overnight
• Practice is important
• Overall progress, learning from exercises
 MANAGING ANXIETY AND
DELIVERING YOUR SPEECH

Abc

S himranz
Skills
 I. QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE
SPEAKERS
Effective speakers
are ethical,
knowledgeable,
well-prepared, and
confident!
I. THE QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE
SPEAKERS MUST BE DEVELOPED
TO ENHANCE THE LIKELIHOOD
THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL
ATTEND TO THE MESSAGE.
 I.

A. Ethics, or an individual’s system of moral

principles, plays a key role in communication.
• 1. Ethical speakers do not distort or falsify
evidence to misrepresent information.
 I.

A. 2. Ethical speakers do not make

unsupported attacks on opponents in
order to discredit them.
 I.

B. 3. Ethical speakers do not deceive

their listeners about their intentions or
objectives in an attempt to persuade
them or take advantage of the situation.
 I.

A. 4. Ethical speakers always cite the

sources of their information, thus
avoiding plagiarism.
• Why should the speaker be aware of
ethics?
 I.

B. Knowledge is a speaker’s greatest asset.

• 1. Knowing your subject is essential if you plan
to reach your listeners.
• 2. You not only should know about past
international, national, regional and local events,
but also keep abreast of current events.
 I.
C. Most successful speakers are well
prepared.
• What does “well prepared” imply?
• How does one become “well prepared”?
• Why should speakers be well prepared?
 I.

D. Self-confidence, or the belief in oneself

is essential to becoming an effective speaker.

• How self-confident are you?
• What situations shake your confidence?
• What situations enhance your confidence?
II. MANAGING ANXIETY
Anxiety is a normal
response.

Anxiety can be
beneficial.

Anxiety can be
controlled.
 II. MANAGING SPEECH
ANXIETY IS POSSIBLE.

A. If you experience the fear of

speaking before an audience, a condition
known as speech anxiety, it may help
you to know that you are not alone.
 II.

B. Communication apprehension, the

most severe form of speech anxiety, is
associated with either real or anticipated
communication with another person or
persons.
 II.

C. Some symptoms of speech anxiety are

rapid heart rate, rise in blood pressure, stomach
flutters, and outward nervous habits.
• Some of us get “clammy” hands, or too
much or too little saliva.
 II.

1. People also develop speech

anxiety if they constantly hear
that speaking in front of people
can be a terrible experience.
 II.

3. If we believe that winning is

everything, this could lead to speech
anxiety.
• 4. Our own lack of self-confidence can
also lead to anxiety.
 II.

E. The key to successful control of speech anxiety is the desire

to control it.
• 1. Select a topic that you enjoy and know something about.
• 2. Control your anxiety by being prepared for your presentations.
 II.

3. Be confident of your ability and

your knowledge of your topic.

4. Visualize yourself giving a

successful speech.
 II.
• 5. The better you know the content of
your speech and your plan of delivery, the
more comfortable you will be about your
presentation.
• 6. Systematic desensitization, a relaxation
technique, may help.
III. EFFECTIVE DELIVERY

We want the audience to listen to

and remember speech content.

There are four types of delivery

commonly used.
 III.
AN EFFECTIVE DELIVERY CONVEYS THE
SPEAKER’S PURPOSE AND IDEAS CLEARLY
AND INTERESTINGLY SO THAT THE
AUDIENCE ATTENDS TO AND RETAINS
WHAT WAS SAID AS IT WAS INTENDED BY
THE SPEAKER.
 III.

A. The delivery of a speech with little or no formal planning

or preparation is called impromptu delivery.

B. Reading the speech word for word is known as

manuscript delivery.
 III.
C. Memorized delivery requires that you memorize your
speech in its entirety, usually from a word-for-word script.

D. In extemporaneous delivery the speaker has a carefully

prepared and researched speech delivered from notes, but with a
high degree of spontaneity.
IV. ASPECTS OF DELIVERY

Speakers need to be
aware of how they look,
how they stand, when
they make eye contact
with the audience, and
how they sound.
 IV. VOCAL AND PHYSICAL ASPECTS ARE
IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF DELIVERY.

A. As you speak, your voice should be

pleasant to listen to, relate easily and clearly to
your thoughts, and express a range of emotions.
(Many communication instructors believe that speakers

should be formally conversational.)

 IV.

1. The overall impression that a

speaker’s voice makes on her or his
listeners is referred to as vocal quality.
 IV.

2. A speaker’s intelligibility, the degree to which an

audience can hear and understand the words he or

she says, is determined by vocal volume, distinctiveness

of sound, accuracy of pronunciation, articulation, and

stress placed on syllables, words, and phrases.

 IV.

3. The combination of rate, force, and pitch

variations that add to a speaker’s overall quality
is called vocal variety.
 IV.

B. Among the physical factors that can

affect delivery are personal appearance,
body movement, gestures, facial
expressions, and eye contact.
 IV.

1. Personal appearance-what a speaker

looks like and the way a speaker dresses,
grooms, and presents herself or himself to
others- is an extremely important
consideration.
 IV.

2. Body movement can aid

in holding attention and
communicating ideas more
clearly.
 IV.
• Posture should be relaxed and natural;
avoid slouching.
• b. Gestures, movements of the head, arms, and
hands that help illustrate, emphasize or clarify a
point, should be spontaneous. (If it’s too planned
looking, the listeners may be put off by the lack of
conversationality.)
 IV.

Facial expressions are

configurations of the face that
can reflect, augment, contradict,
or be unrelated to a speaker’s
vocal delivery.
 IV.

The extent to which a speaker

looks directly at audience
members, making eye contact,
is associated with facial
expressions.
 Thank you

S himranz
Skills 56