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i (CUP) - There is a Jerry Seinfeld joke that
goes: “According to most studies, people’s number one fear
is public speaking . .. Death is number two. This means to
the average person, if you have to go to a funeral, you’re
better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

Seinfeld’s joke may seem a tad over-the-top, but public
speaking haunts many the world over. According to a 2007
study on speech anxiety published in Communications
Research Reports, the number of people terrified by
speaking before crowds is 70 per cent of the world’s
population.

Whether it be the president of a company, a math
teacher, a consultant, or a student; each must address
a crowd at some point in their career. However, public
speaking skills are also useful outside of business situations,
such as when giving a toast at a wedding or simply
addressing your friends.

The basics of public speaking, from the actual speech
writing to the delivery, might seem simple; but overcoming
a fear of the audience, mistakes, or yourself on stage, is
debilitating for many. Not everybody is the class clown, the

outgoing friend who knows everybody, or the genius in class

answering questions.
Fortunately, there are solutions.

Sifting through historical
rhetoric
Daniel Mroz, professor of theatre at the

University of Ottawa, believes the dawn
of public communication, if not speaking,
can be found as far back as the time of the
Neanderthals.

“T think that our creation of meaning
and trying to communicate it to another
person — that oration or expression
can be seen as pre-language human
communication,” he said. “You’ve got
sound, you’ve got movement, and you’ve got response.”

It was not until 400 BC in ancient Greece that there
was any structured thinking regarding the art of speaking.
An early mention of rhetoric (the art of speaking and writing
effectively) and oratory (the art of public speaking) can be
found in Homer’s Iliad. Well-known protagonists such as
Achilles and Odysseus were praised and honoured in the tale
for their uncanny ability for influential speech-making in
front of crowds.

It was only decades later, in Athens, that public
speaking ability reached its full significance with the
emergence of the new political system of democracy.

Speeches became the medium through which citizens
gained political influence. Philosophers such as Plato and his
student Aristotle taught through public talks. Most of what
we know of them comes from the writings of students who
attended their speeches.

Perhaps modern day politics serve as a more familiar
example of the influence of speech. A political speech can
captivate the imagination, start a riot, or fail to inspire any
sort of reaction at all.

Certain speeches have shaped history. Consider Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963: an
inspiration that brought the American civil rights movement
to its peak. A speaker with captivating stage presence and
eloquent diction can certainly reach celebrity status.

10

Terrorized by words

The grasp of anxiety is suffocating; the sudden closing-in of
the walls and the rapid increase of the heartbeat against the
chest can be overwhelming.

A 2006 study published in the Southern
Communication Journal notes the physiological symptoms
of speech anxiety as increased heart rate, trembling,
sweating palms, and stomach cramps and pains.

These symptoms can be so debilitating that you fail to
notice your surroundings, thus affecting the delivery of your
words.

According to the study, the majority of students do not
have acute anxiety.

Research found that most students are “habituators” because
they respond to the physiological and psychological
symptoms that arise from the anxiety in a positive manner
and use it to acclimate into the role of a public speaker.

According to Dr. Diana Koszycki, research director
of the Stress and Anxiety Clinical Research Unit at the
Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, and professor
of psychiatry at the University of Ottawa, it is true that the
majority of students are in the middle range, fearing only the

 

couple of minutes or hours before a presentation.
However, there are some students whose fear of public
oratory is so overwhelming that it begins to interfere with
their choices and daily activities.

“People who experience very extreme anxiety to
the point where it is very painful for them to give a
presentation and they worry days ahead of the presentation,
or even decide to not take certain courses in order to
avoid presentations, have more of what we call a phobia,”
Koszycki said. “This is. more extreme than having the
normal performance anxiety that everybody might feel
before giving a talk.”

For the students who are on the extreme end of the
performance-anxiety scale, all is not lost. There are various
effective ways to reduce speech anxiety.

Relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises are
usually quite helpful with the sudden onset of panic, as long
as they are practiced on a regular basis.

As with most things, people need to practice in order
to gain experience and the more speeches someone gives,
the more comfortable and at ease they find themselves while
doing it.

According to Koszycki, there exists another valuable
type of therapy for those with acute performance anxiety.
Her research focuses on the way those suffering from
speech anxiety seem to constantly put themselves down with
negative thoughts, an issue cognitive therapy can adequately
address.

This therapy involves sessions with a psychologist who
guides the patient into more positive thinking.

“Tf you are going into a situation with [negative]
thoughts, you are going to feel anxious,” she said. “So one
of the things this therapy does is help you look at your
thinking, looking at how distorted the thinking might be,
[looking at] the correct thinking.”

The toast of the night

Many organizations around the globe try to aid people

in overcoming their speech anxiety. Perhaps the most
prominent is Toastmasters International, an organization that
has boasted over four million members since 1924.

The organization’s mandate, according to their website, is to
“help men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening
and thinking — vital skills that promote self-actualization,
enhance leadership potential, foster human understanding
and contribute to the betterment of [human] kind.”

Carolyn Tapp, president of the Parliament Hill
Toastmasters in Ottawa, believes the organization is a
great place for a variety of people — including students — to
practice public speaking.

“The communication and leadership
skills acquired in Toastmasters are directly
transferable to the workplace, volunteer
organizations, [and] school,” she said. “For
example, Toastmasters develops impromptu
speaking skills which are necessary when
you are called upon to give presentations on
short notice.”

The majority of Toastmasters members
| joined with one purpose in mind: to become
_ a public speaker. The organization provides
- ample encouragement in a situation where
most members have anxiety related to public
_ speaking.

In fact, the common fear of public
speaking makes for a greater level of
understanding among members. They are willing and able
to help new recruits and guests who come in for advice.
Entering the fold is relatively easy with mentors helping you
along the way.

Once you become a member, Toastmasters has a very
structured path to follow.

“The first milestone on the [Toastmasters Education
program] communication track is the “competent
communicator.’ That requires 10 speeches and each of these
speeches focuses on developing a different skill,” said Tapp.
“For example, you might have a speech that focuses on
vocal variety, or gestures, or another one on organizing your
speech,”

Point/counterpoint

Once a person is accustomed to giving speeches and the
sudden moment of nausea has passed, people will often try
debating to improve their arguments and diction.

Debating is, essentially, a professional way of having
an argument, but it is also an effective way of honing one’s
public speaking skills and impromptu thinking.

Ranjan Agarwal is currently a lawyer in the litigation group
at Bennett Jones LLP in Toronto.

Agarwal was the top individual speaker at the 2002
North American Debating Championship and the 2000
national champion.

With his friend Sunil Mathai in 2003, he became
the first non-European to win the Cambridge University