Why does trying to speak another language make us so nervous? It's incredible how someone can be brilliant in other highly complex subjects and have panic attacks when they have to learn another language. This is so common that there is even The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). So how can you overcome this common problem? Below are a few ideas that could help.Learning another language is hard and feeling nervous about learning it is normal. It's like having to give a presentation about what you've learned every day. That's not expected in any other subjects. You are often given weeks or at least days to prepare to present in other circumstances. Learning a language is different in so many ways.
It's critically important to feel comfortable with the people around you, particularly when you are learning. Make sure you have a teacher who is supportive and helpful. If not, find a new one.Role playing is one of the most helpful things you can do to reduce your speaking anxiety. As I mentioned in item one, speaking a foreign language is like having to present constantly. When I have to give a presentation at work, I prepare extensively to help me feel more comfortable, including scripting and rehearsing it as many times as I can. The same steps can be applied to language. What are some common conversations that you have that you can script and rehearse?Practice is the key to all language acquisition, but you don't always have someone to practice with. Also, if you are suffering from anxiety, you may not have the nerve and motivation to practice with another person. A way to practice on your own is to narrate your activities. When you are getting dressed in the morning, try saying the steps out loud, like "I'm going to take a shower" and "I'm putting on my shirt".Sometimes identifying what triggers your anxiety can be a big step in controlling it. Try and keep a journal of when you feel anxious. Is it a certain person that makes you nervous? Is it a certain situation?What I am going to teach you here is the fact that there is a physical reason for our feeling frightened when put into a position to speak in public. That reason is our body's perception that speaking in front of others is a "threatening situation" that demands the over-creation of adrenalin. And it is the over-creation of adrenalin that gives us our symptoms of feeling frightened.
In medical terminologies, public speaking anxiety is referred to as "glossophobia." It is a very common reported type of social fears. It is actually normal that you will experience nervousness during your presentation or speech. However, in the case of a person with a Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), your feeling of anxiety during public speaking will take out and control your life. You will worry too much a few weeks to months before the date of your speech or presentation. On the day of the presentation, you will suffer from intense physical symptoms of anxiety such as pounding heart, blushing, inability to breathe, and quivering voice. These symptoms result from the flight or fight response of your body. There is a sudden release of adrenaline that prepares you for a sudden threat of danger. At this moment, you will experience loss of body control.
This line of thinking leads us to believe that nobody will like what we have to say. Well, I have news for you, not everyone will like what you say. Some people will and other people won't. There is nothing you can do about that, but to deliver your message.
The Chairwoman of the local Institute made a short welcoming speech and then introduced the author and the ladies clapped. He rose slowly to his feet and approached the microphone."Ladies," he began, "On my way here tonight, only God and I knew what I was going to say. Now, only God knows!" And he promptly left the stage!Anxiety about making speeches is far more common than you would think.There are many strategies that can be used to help deal with anxiety caused by having to deliver a speech. One of the major reasons for anxiety is being under prepared.If you are going to paint a door, let's say, then to do a really good job, you must prepare the surface well by rubbing it down with sandpaper. Then perhaps you need to seal the wood before applying undercoat and then one or maybe two coats of the gloss or matte paint.
The point is, the final job will not look half as good if the preparation work is not done well.It's the same with a good speech. If you don't collect together the material about which you are going to speak, sort it all into a sensible well thought out order so that all the points you want to cover are included and then arrange that material in an understandable way, your speech will be a disaster. Without that preparation, your task on the day will be immeasurably more difficult.But with all that preparation behind you, your confidence in your own ability with regard to the accuracy of the information should be OK.Your next task, of course, is the delivery of the speech and your preparation for your delivery should be just as thorough as your preparation of the content of the speech.So, what are the ways in which you can prepare yourself for delivery of your speech?During your preparation, find time to practise the speech. Read it through several times and you'll get a feel for how it sounds. If you can, record the speech as you hope to deliver it and listen to the playback carefully. Note down anything which didn't sound quite right so that you can change it at the end.
This approach can be accomplished by "breaking the ice" comments. Some people may engage in small talk prior to the official presentation to reduce anxiety.Know the Material.Out of all the tips, this one is crucial. Knowing what you are talking about will help you reduce anxiety. It is recommended to practice your speech. This exercise helps build confidence, and confidence will help reduce anxiety. Practice in front of a mirror if necessary.
One of the things which can always relieve tension in any activity is an injection of some humour. Distractions are a well-known way of relieving tension and a humorous thought or mind picture can certainly play a very good part in distracting you away from your nervousness just before and even during your speech.Various silly suggestions have been put forward as to what would be a good distraction such as imagining the audience sitting there completely naked or looking like rows of carrots or other vegetables. Silly is used here in the sense of being something to laugh at. If you can do this, without actually laughing, it could be a way for you to ease your own tension.
Once you have your game plan prepared, imagine yourself giving the speech. Visualization is a technique that helps you become familiar with the event. Imagine you are giving the speech in front of a big group. The more you practice the material and the more you see yourself doing it, the less anxious you will be. It is alright to have an error or two. Many people, as mentioned before, think that every word or every sentence must be perfect. Keep in mind that your audience does not know what you have planned for them. If you omit a word or sentence, they will not notice it.
Remember that public speaking anxiety is a self fulfilling prophecy. If you think the speech will go wrong, you will seek for validation of errors. Additionally, if you use visual aid make sure that if it does not work, you are prepared. That is why it is recommended for you to know the material. I have seen many presentations where the presenter relies heavily on the visual aid. Remember, the message is what is important. Everything else supplements your message.
As I mentioned, it is adrenaline that creates our symptoms of fear and anxiety completely out of our control. But what if you could control the adrenaline your body creates- then you would be in control!! That is what my research discovered and that is what I can show you how to do - control the adrenaline your body creates by taking a safe, inexpensive and non-addictive medication. And once I show you, you can do it anytime you want, on demand - just 15 minutes before a speaking engagement or performance.No you don't and here's why - Taking the medication during public speaking engagements over a period of time, allows the brain to re-think how it feels about speaking in public. With the medication, each public speaking event will increase your confidence as you realize you don't look or feel frightened. Your brain will eventually understand that public speaking is not the threatening situation that it has assumed. The medication can make it much easier to transition through the period of fearing to speak in public and being confident to speak in public. Because of this, the medication should not be considered a "crutch", but rather a "training aid" that will allow you to re-train your brain to understand that speaking in public does not require an overabundance of adrenaline in order to survive.
It's critically important to feel comfortable with the people around you, particularly when you are learning. Make sure you have a teacher who is supportive and helpful. If not, find a new one.Role playing is one of the most helpful things you can do to reduce your speaking anxiety. As I mentioned in item one, speaking a foreign language is like having to present constantly. When I have to give a presentation at work, I prepare extensively to help me feel more comfortable, including scripting and rehearsing it as many times as I can. The same steps can be applied to language. What are some common conversations that you have that you can script and rehearse?Practice is the key to all language acquisition, but you don't always have someone to practice with. Also, if you are suffering from anxiety, you may not have the nerve and motivation to practice with another person. A way to practice on your own is to narrate your activities. When you are getting dressed in the morning, try saying the steps out loud, like "I'm going to take a shower" and "I'm putting on my shirt".Sometimes identifying what triggers your anxiety can be a big step in controlling it. Try and keep a journal of when you feel anxious. Is it a certain person that makes you nervous? Is it a certain situation?What I am going to teach you here is the fact that there is a physical reason for our feeling frightened when put into a position to speak in public. That reason is our body's perception that speaking in front of others is a "threatening situation" that demands the over-creation of adrenalin. And it is the over-creation of adrenalin that gives us our symptoms of feeling frightened.
In medical terminologies, public speaking anxiety is referred to as "glossophobia." It is a very common reported type of social fears. It is actually normal that you will experience nervousness during your presentation or speech. However, in the case of a person with a Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), your feeling of anxiety during public speaking will take out and control your life. You will worry too much a few weeks to months before the date of your speech or presentation. On the day of the presentation, you will suffer from intense physical symptoms of anxiety such as pounding heart, blushing, inability to breathe, and quivering voice. These symptoms result from the flight or fight response of your body. There is a sudden release of adrenaline that prepares you for a sudden threat of danger. At this moment, you will experience loss of body control.
This line of thinking leads us to believe that nobody will like what we have to say. Well, I have news for you, not everyone will like what you say. Some people will and other people won't. There is nothing you can do about that, but to deliver your message.
The Chairwoman of the local Institute made a short welcoming speech and then introduced the author and the ladies clapped. He rose slowly to his feet and approached the microphone."Ladies," he began, "On my way here tonight, only God and I knew what I was going to say. Now, only God knows!" And he promptly left the stage!Anxiety about making speeches is far more common than you would think.There are many strategies that can be used to help deal with anxiety caused by having to deliver a speech. One of the major reasons for anxiety is being under prepared.If you are going to paint a door, let's say, then to do a really good job, you must prepare the surface well by rubbing it down with sandpaper. Then perhaps you need to seal the wood before applying undercoat and then one or maybe two coats of the gloss or matte paint.
The point is, the final job will not look half as good if the preparation work is not done well.It's the same with a good speech. If you don't collect together the material about which you are going to speak, sort it all into a sensible well thought out order so that all the points you want to cover are included and then arrange that material in an understandable way, your speech will be a disaster. Without that preparation, your task on the day will be immeasurably more difficult.But with all that preparation behind you, your confidence in your own ability with regard to the accuracy of the information should be OK.Your next task, of course, is the delivery of the speech and your preparation for your delivery should be just as thorough as your preparation of the content of the speech.So, what are the ways in which you can prepare yourself for delivery of your speech?During your preparation, find time to practise the speech. Read it through several times and you'll get a feel for how it sounds. If you can, record the speech as you hope to deliver it and listen to the playback carefully. Note down anything which didn't sound quite right so that you can change it at the end.
This approach can be accomplished by "breaking the ice" comments. Some people may engage in small talk prior to the official presentation to reduce anxiety.Know the Material.Out of all the tips, this one is crucial. Knowing what you are talking about will help you reduce anxiety. It is recommended to practice your speech. This exercise helps build confidence, and confidence will help reduce anxiety. Practice in front of a mirror if necessary.
One of the things which can always relieve tension in any activity is an injection of some humour. Distractions are a well-known way of relieving tension and a humorous thought or mind picture can certainly play a very good part in distracting you away from your nervousness just before and even during your speech.Various silly suggestions have been put forward as to what would be a good distraction such as imagining the audience sitting there completely naked or looking like rows of carrots or other vegetables. Silly is used here in the sense of being something to laugh at. If you can do this, without actually laughing, it could be a way for you to ease your own tension.
Once you have your game plan prepared, imagine yourself giving the speech. Visualization is a technique that helps you become familiar with the event. Imagine you are giving the speech in front of a big group. The more you practice the material and the more you see yourself doing it, the less anxious you will be. It is alright to have an error or two. Many people, as mentioned before, think that every word or every sentence must be perfect. Keep in mind that your audience does not know what you have planned for them. If you omit a word or sentence, they will not notice it.
Remember that public speaking anxiety is a self fulfilling prophecy. If you think the speech will go wrong, you will seek for validation of errors. Additionally, if you use visual aid make sure that if it does not work, you are prepared. That is why it is recommended for you to know the material. I have seen many presentations where the presenter relies heavily on the visual aid. Remember, the message is what is important. Everything else supplements your message.
As I mentioned, it is adrenaline that creates our symptoms of fear and anxiety completely out of our control. But what if you could control the adrenaline your body creates- then you would be in control!! That is what my research discovered and that is what I can show you how to do - control the adrenaline your body creates by taking a safe, inexpensive and non-addictive medication. And once I show you, you can do it anytime you want, on demand - just 15 minutes before a speaking engagement or performance.No you don't and here's why - Taking the medication during public speaking engagements over a period of time, allows the brain to re-think how it feels about speaking in public. With the medication, each public speaking event will increase your confidence as you realize you don't look or feel frightened. Your brain will eventually understand that public speaking is not the threatening situation that it has assumed. The medication can make it much easier to transition through the period of fearing to speak in public and being confident to speak in public. Because of this, the medication should not be considered a "crutch", but rather a "training aid" that will allow you to re-train your brain to understand that speaking in public does not require an overabundance of adrenaline in order to survive.
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