Speech anxiety

Speech anxiety symptoms

In the respective situation, the triggers can manifest themselves in many different ways and on different levels of the psyche and the body.

On the psychological level, the symptoms appear on the cognitive-emotional level. The person affected feels a dominant sense of insecurity about their own qualifications. This is accompanied by low self-esteem and the belief that they are not good enough. The urge to be overly perfect can also be a stress trigger. In most cases, feelings of this kind lead to avoidance behavior. The relevant situations are avoided out of an instinct to flee. If the speaker remains in the situation, there is a predominantly seamless transition to the physiological level.

At the physiological level, stress hormones are released and the heart and pulse rate increase massively. The sudden expansion of the blood vessels can cause redness in the face and neck. Excessive sweating can often be observed. The fear of speaking can also be characterized by increased clearing of the throat, which is caused by the drying out of the mucous membranes in the larynx. The affected person may also notice an increase in the urge to urinate and defecate.
A change in motor function can also be observed. Arms, hands and legs are often subject to twitching and trembling movements, and it is also possible to fall into a kind of rigidity. Excessive twitching and immobile facial expressions can also be transferred to the face. For the listener, speech anxietycan manifest itself in disruptions to the flow of speech. The flow of speech can be interrupted by stuttering or frequent clearing of the throat, among other things.
It is also stressful that the symptoms mentioned can occur at the same time and thus cause speech anxiety. If the speaker feels their own face flushing, this also tends to lead to their personal attention automatically being focused on all the other symptoms and the situation worsens as a result.
If speech anxiety occurs in an active situation, a kind of sequence can be identified and divided into three stages.

In a kind of first stage, the cognitive-emotional phase appears, in which personal insecurities come to the fore. Even before the actual act of speaking has begun, the first symptoms start to make themselves felt. Shyness in front of the audience is particularly evident here.
After the first words have been spoken, the speaker’s attention shifts to their own perception. The affected person is now in the second stage. Here, the physiological processes described above are activated and made conscious. These often lead to a lack of concentration and excessive uncertainty.
After the first few minutes have passed, there is usually some kind of improvement. The physical reactions decrease, the speaker can refocus and concentration also increases again. The third stage can also be seen as a stage of acceptance, in which the person concerned realizes that they are in no danger.
Whether this third stage occurs or not can also determine how severe the speech anxiety is. If your own efforts do not result in an improvement, professional help should be sought.

In general, it is useful to be aware that self-perception and external perception differ. In self-perception, the speaker is aware of their physical reactions, such as sweating and trembling, as well as their fear of failure. In order to overcomehis or her fear of speaking, it is important to accept that the audience will notice little or nothing. A certain amount of tension can even have a supportive effect. The speaker appears more active due to the body tension. And the hormones released can even lead to an increase in concentration at the end.