What Causes Public Speaking Anxiety?
It's common for people to feel anxiety when they speak in public. Even well-spoken individuals and well-practiced speakers may feel this from time to time. It's important to learn more about the causes of public speaking anxiety so that you know how to overcome this.
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Fear of Rejection
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This is a common cause of public speaking anxiety. Individuals may fear that people may not pay attention to what they have to say, or that their speech won't be welcomed. When individuals are about to speak in public, they have a fear their ideas may be disregarded.
Social Judgment
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Another cause of public speaking anxiety is negative social judgment. This happens when an individual is focused on how she'll be accepted by the audience as an individual. She cares not so much about whether her ideas will be accepted but more how people will view her as an individual. The individual may feel she will embarrass herself in front of the audience.
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Speech Anxiety
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Individuals may feel anxious about their way of speaking, worrying that they may stutter or forget their speech. Speech anxiety involves any negative instances in speaking that may occur pertaining to the individual's deliverance of his speech. Individuals who may feel speech anxiety may be those striving for perfection in their speech and are obsessed with scenarios where something might go wrong.
Negative Experiences
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It's common for people who have had negative experiences in public speaking to experience anxiety the next time they're in front of an audience. The individual may replay the negative incident in the past and relive this experience, causing him to feel hesitant in speaking again in public.
Failing to Practice
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Being a great public speaker takes a lot of practice in rehearsing the speech and exercising public speaking techniques. Failing to practice the speech and these techniques may cause public speaking anxiety because the individual may feel unprepared and unworthy to stand in front of the audience. Inexperienced public speakers mostly feel this anxiety.
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