Class gives students confidence to speak in public

April 11, 2007

Some people make public speaking look easy. They approach the podium with confidence and keep their audiences interested and entertained. For others, just the thought of giving a speech causes sweaty palms, shaky knees and a racing heartbeat.

University of Florida student Lauren McKinney used to be one of the nervous people. Whenever she would have to give a class presentation, no matter how short, her nerves would make a speech nearly impossible.

“I would get major butterflies and my face would flush,” she said.

The second-year business student knew she needed help in developing public speaking skills. On a friend’s recommendation, she signed up for the Speech in Anxiety Lab, a one-credit class offered by the William and Grace Dial Center for Written and Oral Communication designed to help students overcome their fears of speaking in public.

Kim McCall came up with the idea for the SPA (Speaking in Public Anxiety) program after she realized that many students would sign up for her public speaking course and then disappear when it came time for their first speech. Her colleagues at the center noticed the problem, too.

“We didn’t have any way to help them,” she said. “So we came up with a special class.”

The SPA labs meet three times a week for five weeks, rather than once a week for the full semester. No more than eight students are allowed in any one lab, which gives students a chance to directly address their fears in a relaxed environment. After learning the causes of communication anxiety and exploring various treatment methods, students determine what will work best for them.

“You need an audience to practice in front of and you can’t get that experience from a book,” said McCall, who has been teaching the lab for seven years. “There’s not one thing that helps everybody.”

McCall said the lab works because it teaches the key to overcoming a fear of public speaking: controlling feelings of anxiety. By using humor and relaxation techniques to ease tension, students learn how to remain calm. They play charades to practice gestures, participate in positive imagery and breathing exercises, and even wear eccentric hats to distract from their stress.

“When you’re doing the exercises, you can feel really ridiculous,” McKinney said. “But even if we were nervous, we learned not to show it.”

Students also can relax once they realize their speeches don’t have to be perfect.

“They have to understand that communication is an imperfect system,” McCall said. “When we change their perspective, they realize public speaking can actually be fun.”

McKinney admits that she had always written down every word she wanted to say before a speech, but after completing the lab, she learned that all that memorization can cause more stress. Now, she just writes a few words on a note card to use as reminders and has conquered her fear.

“It was all about gaining confidence,” she said. “That’s helpful for everyone, no matter what your major is.”

Registration under way

Next fall, the five-week Speaking in Public Anxiety Program will be offered during seventh period (1:55 p.m.) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The class is one credit and is taken on an S/U basis.

Contact Kim McCall at kmccall@cwoc.ufl.edu or 352-316-5124 to register.