Danie Lynne

Almost all speakers, veterans as well as rookies, have some degree of anxiety as they anticipate a communication situation. Barbra Streisand and Carly Simon—and countless other professional entertainers and communicators— have described their struggles to control this communication apprehension. 5 International students and students from marginalized cultural groups often have a great deal of it.6 As you give your first speech, you may experience it as well. In fact, there might be something wrong if you didn’t have feelings of anxiety. The absence of any nervousness could suggest that you do not care enough about the audience or your message. We once attended a banquet where an award was presented to the ‘Communicator of the Year.” Before sitting down to eat, this recipient confessed privately to us, “I dread having to make this speech!” We were not surprised when this person, who is now governor of Tennessee, made an effective presentation.