How to Prepare Fearful Students for Public Speaking

For many students the thought of speaking in front of the class sends shivers down the spine and sets them into a state of panic-yet giving and oral report or presentation is part of many language arts curriculums and may be required in other classes, as well. As a teacher, you are in a position to help these students build the confidence required for speaking in front of the class long before that first oral report is due.

Setting the Stage
Place the fearful student in the front center position in your classroom-seating chart. This positions him in the front seat in the middle row. It is important that the student does not realize that his seating arrangement has been chosen for this reason. To reduce the risk of the student feeling singled out, change your entire seating plan at this time.

Begin Small
Begin to accustom the student to speaking in front of the class by asking each student to read a paragraph or two aloud on a regular basis. Because the student is "protected" by his desk, he is unlikely to experience anxiety at this time.

Increase Exposure
Once all students are comfortable reading aloud from their desks, move on to asking students to stand to read their individual sections. Because all students are standing when they read, the targeted student will likely participate without worries about being in front of the class.

More Practice
After several weeks, choose a play for reading aloud. Assign parts and ask students to stand as they read. Encourage those in the front of the room to turn and face their peers as they practice their role.

Increasing Exposure
By this time, the student is now reading aloud in front of the class. Transition to each student reading a report or presenting written or printed material to the class from the front of the class.

The Final Transition
With one last transition, the fearful student can typically give an oral report or presentation in front of the class with minimal stress and anxiety.

The key to success is to move slowly and to assess the student's comfort level before progressing to the next level. If the student shows signs of stress, slow down and work on the current level until all students are comfortable. Remember that there is no right and wrong time to move to the next step-the goal is to produce confident speakers who are able to speak in front of the class without undue stress and anxiety.

SOURCES:
Watson, George. Classroom Discipline Problem Solver.1998