The Effects of Perparation and Self-Esteem on Public Speaking Anxiety

THE EFFECTS OF PERPARATION AND SELF-ESTEEM ON PUBLIC SPEAKING ANXIETY
The purpose of the present study was to examine the difference, if any, that preparation time before a speech and a person’s self-esteem would have on the level of anxiety experienced while speaking in public. College students were randomly assigned to groups involving either a five minute preparation period with a list of five topics to discuss or waiting without preparation until they actually begin their speech. The variables that we studied in this experiment can be assigned to four groups: 1)People with low self-esteem and no preparation time, 2)People with high self-esteem and no preparation time, 3)People with low self-esteem with preparation time, and 4) People with high self-esteem and preparation time. It was hypothesized that preparation would decrease the amount of anxiety experienced during public speaking. It was also hypothesized that the higher a person’s self-esteem is, the lower his or her level of anxiety during public speaking will be, and vice-versa. It was hypothesized that people with low self-esteem and no preparation time would experience the most anxiety, while people with high self-esteem who were allowed preparation

This experiment differs from others that have been conducted to test public speaking anxiety because it examines the effects of self-esteem and preparation time over three specific time periods (before participants knew they would be giving speeches, after participants found out they would be giving speeches, and post-speaking). This experiment attempted to eliminate the possibility of people overcoming their immediate anxiety when confronted with a speech by keeping the participants uninformed until the time that they are actually going to give the speech. In this way, it is possible to measure public speaking anxiety with as few confounding variables as possible. Therefore, our dependent variables can be more accurately interpreted and will lead to a more reliable conclusion than one that did not attempt to eliminate confounding variables. This experiment will add to the existing body of evidence and research regarding public speaking anxiety. It will build on the ideas cited above about preparation and the self-esteem level of the speaker and how these variables affect the levels of anxiety felt while speaking.