Personally, the whole chapter two is very useful for me to overcome speech anxiety, especially using the strategies of visualization, relabeling, and relaxation, to increase my confidence (Coopman 28-30).
As a senior college student, I have been given many class assignment presentations. Diaphragmatic breathing was the only way that I have learned how to reduce the high level of speech anxiety during a presentation. Even though I have many times done breathing exercises, I still couldn’t overcome why my face was still red as a lobster and my voice was quavering, and my heart was trying to jump through my throat.
Visualization is one of the handy strategies that Coopman details how to visualize your-self having a successful speech from preparing speech to after giving a successful speech. Also, his suggestion of relabeling has given me another point of view to avoid the increasing rate of anxiety. I recall having saying some negative words, such as “I am sorry about my poor English, or I am so nervous,” before starting my presentation. And during the presentation, I was still nervous. Therefore, I think I should change my attitude toward a positive view.
Finally, the most significant concept in this chapter is “Speaking of Can-do Language” (29), and I firmly believe that we could do everything better when we are willing to do it with “enthusiasm.”
I think it's great that you can recognize things that you have done in the past that haven't worked, and use it as a template of ways to improve. I'm curious if your face is really as red as you think it is or if it's just the way you believe the audience perceives you. I just try to remember that we all have to get up in this class, and we are all in the same boat. If we learned this many techniques in chapter two alone, I'm curious to see just how much more we can learn to improve our speeches.
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