Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety Audience Analysis

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

For my program, my audience consists of anyone who seeks public speaking skills !his includes those who have anxiety related to public speaking "y audience may consist of those who are college students, those in the workforce, or anyone who seeks skills in public speaking For many individuals, it may serve as a method of making improvements, overcoming anxiety, and building self#confidence For other individuals, it may be an introduction to public speaking I think that first year students at a community college may be a ma$or part of my audience In addition to this, my primary focus for this pro$ect would be in an online format So distance learning students would be another element of who the audience is "y goal is to use the %uestions in the form of a %uestionnaire, to learn about my audience I think a better program could be constructed by applying feedback from those who could be potential program participants to the program&s curriculum 'earning of student needs is an important part of designing my program !he program is designed to help students to meet goals, therefore, the more that I know about my participants, the better the program will be !he survey %uestions that I developed serve as my audience analysis tool to learn about the needs of my audience In order to know what to include in my program, I would needs to learn about the areas that potential participants need to improve Areas where the ma$ority of learners display strength would not need to be an area to focus much time on, whereas areas where the ma$ority of participants are weak in would be of a greater focus !he %uestions are designed to find the level of public speaking that the students are familiar with !here are a total of fifteen %uestions asked, allowing participants to describe their background in education and in the workforce In addition to this, the survey also allows students to explain their history as it relates to public

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

speaking !here are also %uestions related to a participant(s experience with a computer, whether or not they have participated in distance learning, and if they have used a webcam to communicate with other people online Of the fifteen surveys sent, there ten participants

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

Public Speaking Survey )uestions * +hat experience do you have in public speaking, Please rank your expertise on a scale of * to - * represents limited experience, - represents a high level of expertise . +here are your educational or career goals, / +hat are your plans for the future, related to a career and education0 are you seeking a new profession , 1 2ave you addressed an audience publicly, - Are you familiar with conducting research and presenting your findings in a public format, 3 4o you feel anxious when speaking to other people, Please rank your anxiety level on a scale of * to - * representing low anxiety related to public speaking, and - representing high anxiety related to public speaking 5 4o you feel that it would be problematic for you to speak publicly to an audience, If so, why do you feel that it would create a problem, 6 +hat aspects of public speaking do you feel a need to improve on, Some areas may include speaking to an audience, eye contact with audience members, and an inability to speak due to anxiety 7 2ave you ever written speech, *8 4o you have concerns as it relates to the proper tone to use when speaking publicly, ** 2ow do you feel about making eye contact with an individual or an audience, *. 4oes constructive criticism cause anxiety for you, */ 4o you have experience using a computer, *1 2ave you participated in distance learning in the past, *- 4o you have experience communicating with others via a webcam or by video,

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

9ationale For !he )uestions :very %uestion is specifically designed to learn more about the potential participants, in order to design a program that will meet participant needs )uestions one and nine consider the experience of the learners !his relates to learning if students have experience related to public speaking and writing a speech to deliver in a public speaking setting !he first %uestion is a good place to start, in that the learner(s experience is taken into consideration !hose who answer the first %uestion with a high ranking may not be in need of a public speaking program, whereas those who answer with a low ranking will be in high need of improving their public speaking skills "otivation is another important area to understand as it relates to potential participants, and this relates to %uestions two and three A ma$or part of enrolling in a program involves a plan to meet goals !he second %uestion asks participants about their educational or career goals !his information would help to understand why a participant may seek to improve their skills in public speaking !hey may wish to have a career that re%uires public speaking, or their educational goals may involve improving their speaking An instructor always needs to know about the needs of the students, including their motivation A ma$or part of this program is focused on building the confidence of the participants, because I think the student(s attitude is a factor in whether or not they pursue a class and reach success )uestions six, eight, ten, and eleven are a part of analy;ing areas that need to be strengthened In order to be successful in public speaking, one will need to overcome anxiety and have confidence !his would include stating areas that are in need of improvement, and this relates to %uestion eight !one and eye contact are also a part of speaking, and it may be a part of confidence, which is why these %uestions are

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

included I want to also consider what the learner already knows, in order to determine the learner(s goals !hese areas would be related to the rationale of %uestions one, five, four, nine, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen !he last three %uestion are related to the student(s experience with technology !his is important to know because the program will be delivered online as a distance learning class, therefore, I need to know about their experience related to this )uestions five and nine are also important as it relates to a student(s understanding of tasks In %uestion five, students are asked about conducting research and presenting their findings in a public format !his would lead to the ninth %uestion related to writing a speech As for the twelfth %uestion, I need to know how students react to criticism, because feedback is a great way to help students to make improvements !herefore, all of the %uestions are included as a means of finding out more about the students, and this information is related to the type of content that will be included in the class, including the level of detail based on student feedback Summary of Participant 9esponses Of the fifteen surveys, ten of them were returned0 therefore the rate of completed surveys is sixty#seven percent Although this is a small sample, responses were similar among participants in that generali;ed anxiety was found to be a ma$or part of one(s public speaking mindset !he ages of the participants vary significantly, from approximately age eighteen to fifty#nine In regards to the first %uestion, forty percent ranked a low score based on their experiences speaking publicly, twenty percent ranked their skill as a two, and forty percent of participants selected three as their skill level In the second and third %uestions, results indicated that fifty percent of participants seek to return to school, and the other fifty percent of participants would like to have a better $ob

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

)uestion four is another e%ually divided %uestion, with fifty percent stating that they have addressed an audience publicly, and fifty percent who have not In regards to research and presenting results publicly, a topic addressed in %uestion five, eighty percent answered no, and the remaining twenty percent answered yes In the sixth %uestion, the ma$ority of participants stated that they feel moderately anxious about speaking publicly, at sixty percent, while twenty percent stated very anxious, and another twenty percent of participants stated that they were moderately confident in speaking In regards to areas where participants wish to improve on, eighty percent answered feeling more relaxed and confident !he ninth %uestion in regards to experience in writing a speech shows that sixty percent have written a speech, whereas forty percent have not In %uestion ten, the proper tone to use seems to also be a concern of participants, with eighty percent stating yes, and twenty percent stating no Forty percent of participants are anxious about eye contact, and sixty percent are somewhat anxious about eye contact <onstructive criticism is another area that showed various results, with seventy percent stating that constructive criticism would cause some anxiety, and thirty percent stating that it would not be a problem for them !he technological aspect of the survey resulted in eighty percent of participants stating that they use computers, twenty percent do not, and forty percent have participated in a distance learning course as compared to sixty percent who have not participated in an online course In the fiftieth %uestion, it was found that eighty percent haven(t communicated with others by using a webcam or video, compared to twenty percent who have

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

)uestions +hat experience do you have in public speaking, +here are your educational or career goals,

=es >?A

>o >?A

9ank *#18@ * .8@ . 18@ /

9emarks

>?A

>?A

-8@ return to school -8@ have a better $ob in the future

One participant stated they want to keep their career Another participant wants to be self#employed, and also another participant seeks to be a top sales person

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

+hat are your plans for the future, related to a career and education0 are you seeking a new profession ,

>?A

>?A

-8@ >ew $ob -8@ go to school

One participant stated they wish to receive a $ob after graduation Another participant wants to be creative and become self# employed Another student seeks to return to school One of the participants stated they were half way in receiving a degree and then they plan to get a $ob partipant seeks

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

2ave you addressed an audience publicly,

-8@ =es

-8@ >o

Some participants stated they were very nervous

Are you familiar with conducting research and presenting your findings in a public format, 4o you feel anxious when speaking to other people,

.8@ =es

68@ >o

.8@ very anxious 38@ "oderately anxious .8@ "oderately confident

One participant expressed concern related to their :nglish speaking ability

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

4o you feel that it would be problematic for you to speak publicly to an audience,

-8@ =es

/8@ >o

.8@ are not sure One person stated it would depend on why they were speaking Another person said it would be dependent on what they are speaking about One person stated they were shy

2ave you ever 38@ =es written speech,

18@ >o

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

4o you have concerns as it relates to the proper tone to use when speaking publicly, 2ow do you feel about making eye contact with an individual or an audience, 4oes constructive criticism cause anxiety for you,

68@ =es

.8@ >o

>?A

>?A

18@ rank 38@ rank /

>?A

>?A

58@ ranking / Somewhat anxious /8@ ranking 1 >ot a problem

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

4o you have experience using a computer, 2ave you participated in distance learning in the past, 4o you have experience communicatin g with others via a webcam or by video,

68@ =es

.8@ >o

18@ =es

38@ >o

.8@ =es

68@ >o

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

!he 4esign and 4evelopment of Instruction !he responses to the survey will have an affect on the program, as it details areas that need a greater emphasis Potential participants may need information as it relates to conducting research, as the ma$ority of participants stated they are unfamiliar with research +ithout a survey, I would not know this From the survey, I know that many individuals do have anxiety in public speaking, and addressing this anxiety and helping individuals to overcome it is a ma$or part of the program "ost potential participants would like to build confidence and they would like to be more relaxed when speaking, therefore, this is another area I can place more of a focus on when designing my program "ore than half of the potential participants have written a speech, so perhaps not as much time will need to be emphasi;ed on speech writing Speaking tone is another area where potential participants show concern, therefore this will need to be addressed !he ma$ority of those surveyed have not participated in a distance learning class, so I may expect some delay in students becoming accustom to the format !he overwhelming ma$ority of participants surveyed have also not used a webcam or video camera to communicate with others, so perhaps a brief explanation in how to use this technology should be added to the program It is of great benefit to have the results of the survey, in that it will assist me in constructing a program that is specific to the needs of potential participants 9eflections On !he 9esults 9eflecting on the results of the survey, I feel that I now have more insight into who my potential participants could be !his includes the participant(s background and their goals for the future I also now know the participant strengths and weaknesses as it

Public Speaking Introduction and Overcoming Anxiety

relates to the sub$ect of the program Aased on my results and my reflection after receiving the surveys back, I feel that the ma$ority of my %uestions are beneficial in learning about participants !he %uestions helped me to gain an understanding of my students 2owever, my seventh %uestion on whether or not speaking to an audience would be problematic may need to be deleted !he reason for this is because participants may struggle in reaching specific reasons for having a problem with public speaking If one has anxiety, it is important to locate the root of it, however, sometimes participants have generali;ed anxiety about public speaking Perhaps they need to have a thorough explanation throughout a program of how to improve in public speaking, in order to be less anxious about it Public speaking may be the root of the anxiety itself So I do not necessarily think that my seventh %uestions is essential, and the other %uestions I have provide enough information that I will not need the results to %uestion seven One area of the results that I was surprised by is that of %uestion eight I was not sure if tone was a necessary %uestion to address, but as it shows in the results, eighty percent of survey participants do have concerns as it relates to the proper tone to use when speaking publicly to an audience !he technological aspects of my survey are also surprising, in that it shows that I will probably need to think about the student(s experience in using computers Overall, I am pleased with the return rate for the surveys, because it has allowed me to have an understanding of the potential participants for my program +ith survey results, I do not have to simply theori;e what students need, but I am able to learn from potential participants what their needs are, therefore, I can create a better program