2014 Destinations Lesson on Stage Fright
Title: Greater than the Fear of Death: Public Speaking
Class: SPC1608- The Fundamentals of Public Speaking
Introduction: Most students who take this class typically enter with a moderate to high degree of speech anxiety, or the fear of speaking in front of an audience. These tools are meant to explore the topic of speech anxiety, encourage dialogue among students and discover that the fear of public speaking is quite common and explore methods to lessen the fears. I will present this lesson in conjunction with the reading assignment on stage fright and it would be planned as the first or second class to deal with students’ fears right from the start of the course.
As an Attention-Getter, I found a parody song on YouTube called I Hate Public Speaking
that I want to have my own face transposed on the singer, to start with some humor.
Video: I plan to transition into a discussion of the science behind speech anxiety by showing a Ted ed video on the Science of Stage Fright:
Interactive Engagement Strategy: Four Corners: Once the video introduces the science behind stage fright, I will ask students to think of their own worst fear. I will ask them to go to one of the four corners of the room which relates to their particular fear: Forgetting, Sweating, Shaking/Stutter, Being Stared At. Once in groups, the students will then discuss their reactions to public speaking within the group. After some time for discussion, I will thread to the Infographic below, and have them stay in groups as they discuss the various tips to overcoming their fears.
Infographic: I will share this Infographic as a way to thread the discussion towards tips to overcoming the fear of public speaking.
Writing Point: Students will be asked to answer the question: What specific steps will you take this week to help you overcome your own fears of speaking in public? Pair/Share.