Chapter 2: Building Confidence

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Chapter 2Building Confidence
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Understanding Communication Apprehension

• Confidence is the feeling you have when you
  believe that you are capable of handling a
  situation successfully.
• Communication apprehension means that we are
  afraid to speak in public situations.
• A fear is a biological process by which animals,
  including humans, secure the necessary energy to
  do an activity even if it may cause physical or
  psychological injury.
• 20B When fear reaches a certain level, it
  becomes what is known as a phobia or a persistent
  irrational fear.
• Topophobia is sometimes called performance
  anxiety or stage fright and is when someone is
  afraid of getting in front of others.
• Phonophobia is the overall fear of speaking
  aloud.

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Understanding Communication Apprehension

• The Top 10 Fears of Americans are
• 10. Dogs
• 9. Loneliness
• 8. Flying
• 7. Death
• 6. Sickness
• 5. Deep water
• 4. Financial problems
• 3. Insects and bugs
• 2. Heights
• 1. PUBLIC SPEAKING

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Understanding Communication Apprehension

• 1T/F- Stage fright is most evident right before
  we speak and during the first thirty seconds or
  so after we have actually opened or mouths.
• 2T/F- When we are suffering from stage fright,
  our heart rates may increase to twice the normal
  level.
• 3T/F- Stage fright is NOT a figment of our
  imagination, and it can be a serious speaking
  problem.
• 4T/F- Studies show that many fear the thought of
  giving a speech more than they do the thought of
  dying.
• 5T/F- Research shows that most peoples stage
  fears do not occur because they suffer from real
  speaking problems.
• Speakers with stage fright can also suffer from
  dizziness, a flushed face, excessive
  perspiration, shortness of breath, and the urge
  to go to the restroom.

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Establishing an Accurate Perception

• 21B- Many high school students are often afraid
  to speak because they fear being unfairly
  stereotyped.
• Perception refers to how you see things.
• 1IC- The two ways that you can cure a negative
  image of yourself is to recognize your own worth
  and dont be afraid to be human.
• 6T/F- Your audience will forgive a speaking
  error or problem because they know that no ones
  perfect.
• 7T/F- You should never think of a speech as a
  performance. Youre just sharing information.
• 8T/F- Many people make giving a speech more
  difficult than it really is.

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Establishing an Accurate Perception

• 9T/F- Honest intrapersonal communication is one
  cure for stage fright.
• 10T/F- Many people equate making one mistake
  with total failure.
• 11T/F- An error can lead to personal discovery.
  In other words, you can learn from your mistake.
• 12T/F- Confident people are not born with
  confidence. Confident people learn to be
  confident and gain self-esteem by experience.
• What to do if you make a mistake smile, remember
  youre human, take a deep breath, and correct it
  the next time.
• 7IC- An accurate perception of yourself
  contributes to your speaking ability because it
  helps calm your fears, you can learn from your
  mistakes, and you can see yourself as a success.

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Examining the Planks of Confidence

• 2IC- The planks of confidence are
• Content
• Organization
• Notes
• Friendliness
• Impression
• Dedication
• Empathy
• Newness
• Conviction
• Enthusiasm

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Content

• Content means having something worthwhile to say.
• Research helps build solid content.
• 3IC- Several ways to build content is to go to
  the library, read, interview an expert, and watch
  or read the news.

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Organization

• Organization means having an outline for both you
  and the audience to follow.
• 13T/F- A good speaker does not always rely on
  the spontaneity of the moment. A good speaker
  always plans ahead.
• Even the best speakers need a main idea,
  supporting information, and evidence to make
  their speech believable.

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Notes

• 22B- A notecard can be a comforting security
  net in case you fear losing your place in a
  speech.
• 23B- The two greatest problems regarding notes
  for a speech are too many words on a card and too
  many cards.
• 14T/F- If you are suffering from stage fright,
  it is NOT all right to read from your notes.

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Friendliness

• Be friendly. The audience will respond in kind.
• 15T/F- Being likable is the magic bullet to
  speaking. This is because if people like you,
  they are more likely to listen to you.
• Dont be afraid to smile.

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Impression

• Getting off to a good start is essential to
  building good confidence.
• 4IC- The two ways to convey a good first
  impression are have a positive attitude and dress
  and groom properly.
• 16T/F- Fifty-five percent of what others think
  of you is determined before you ever open your
  mouth.
• 17T/F- Dress and grooming have everything to do
  with the impression you make on others.

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Dedication

• Practice, practice, practice.
• 18T/F- A bad way to practice a speech is to go
  over the material silently in the corner.
• 5IC- The proper way to practice a speech is to
  say it aloud, look at another person or yourself
  in a mirror, and practice you movements.

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Empathy

• Know how it feels to be in the shoes of audience
  members.
• Another name for empathy is common ground.
• 24B- Empathy means knowing how it feels to feel
  that way.
• The audience is more likely to listen to you if
  they can identify with you.

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Newness

• Apply some originality to your speech.
• 6IC- Some methods you might use to add
  originality to a speech are clever anecdotes or
  personal stories, gestures, charts and graphs,
  and artwork.

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Conviction

• Conviction means believing in what you are
  saying.
• 19T/F- Conviction has everything to do with
  confidence.
• If you believe in what you say, you will be more
  confident, and the audience will be more likely
  to believe you.

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Enthusiasm

• Get fired up!
• 25B- A good speaker needs to show enthusiasm
  intellectually and physically.
• No one wants to listen to a monotone speaker who
  displays no energy and excitement.