Essentials of Communication Skill and Skill Enhancement

9Yet Another Look at Communication Performance Deficits: The Role of Affect and Arousal

Like almost everyone in my little corner of the world of academe, I spent several years as a graduate student teaching courses in public speaking. During that time I witnessed all manner of sub-optimal communication efforts: Students stuttered, they stammered, they went silent … they touched themselves in inappropriate places and in inappropriate ways, they puked, they passed out. Time and again I saw students who were victims of “the jitters,” “nerves,” “stage fright,” or perhaps a better label, “public speaking anxiety.” In fact, public speaking anxiety is quite common – the authors of one textbook (Richmond, Wrench, & McCroskey, 2018, p. 48) estimated ...