Pre‐performance concerns associated with public speaking anxiety

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Abstract
In three studies the relationship between people's public speaking anxiety and their construals of the public speaking experience were examined. In the first study, greater anxiety was associated with greater concern about evaluation, performance, and self‐related issues. Study 2 focused on people's constructs about public speaking. Highly anxious individuals emphasized self‐oriented, negative constructs. In the final study, anxious people selected speech topics that were less familiar to them and reported less sensitivity to public discourse. While previous research on public speaking anxiety has typically examined the effects of the anxiety on performance, these studies suggest that the anxiety is also related to beliefs and concerns that play a major role in the preparation of speeches.