It was prevalent before the arrival of COVID-19 and now with the stressors associated with the pandemic, virtual learning, and social distancing it will most likely increase. Even if you are one of the rare people who does not experience speech anxiety, you probably witnessed your classmates struggle with the stress, worry and insecurity caused by speech anxiety. For some of us, like Isabella, the speech anxiety is almost debilitating. Most of us have experienced the racing heart rate, difficulty concentrating and sensory overload characteristic of speech anxiety ( Dwyer, 2012). If so, you know what speech anxiety is like. If you have been in a college classroom, most likely, you have had to deliver a presentation, lead a discussion, or share a poster presentation. Though it seems unimaginable that the class could be more terrifying, add Zoom sessions, internet connection issues, and little engagement with her teacher or classmate and Isabella’s out of control speech anxiety is completely understandable. Why had she postponed taking her public speaking class? Yes, it would have been bad in a “normal” term but now, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, she had to take the class online. She is convinced she will embarrass herself and fail her assignment. She is desperately trying to remember her plan, slow her breathing and visualize success but it is impossible to do anything but panic. Her pulse is racing, she is flushed, and her thoughts are a jumbled mess. It is impossible for Isabella to catch her breath. Reflecting upon the scholarship of the past with an appreciation of our present situation and looking toward the future, we will curate a list of best practices to prepare students to effectively manage their speech anxiety with agency, ability, and confidence. Public speaking and presentations took on new meaning with Zoom sessions and webcams and our speech anxiety, undoubtedly, grew, as well. Between the uncertainty of a global pandemic, the unchartered territory of a midterm pivot to fully online education, and the unknown effects of the situation on our educational system, our stress levels grew. Many instructors and students were experiencing online education for the first time and, understandably, anxiety exploded. In an effort to keep campuses safe and save the spring semester, everyone jumped online. Then COVID-19 appeared, and things changed. These research-based findings have led to best practices and strong pedagogical approaches that create a supportive classroom culture and foster engaged learning. Over the years, much work has been done on intentional approaches to empowering students to effectively manage their speech anxiety in face-to-face, hybrid, and online communication courses. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United StatesĪ wealth of literature clearly supports the presence of speech anxiety in the communication classroom, especially in those classes with a focus on public speaking and/or presentations.
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