The Essential Guide to Group Communication: Overcoming Communication Apprehension in Groups
In the Group Communication book I found the section on “Overcoming Communication Apprehension in Groups” to be very interesting because I have found myself in situations where I had felt so nervous and fearful about speaking up and sharing my ideas with others when I’ve been in a group setting. Communication Apprehension brings about feelings of anxiety and it has caused me in the past to have an increased heart rate and it actually makes my hands shake with nerves as well. It’s not uncommon to feel this way, “Estimates suggest that about 20 percent of the population is highly apprehensive about communicating,” which is comforting to know. However, even though its nice knowing that other people have experienced high feelings of nerves and anxiety while in groups, its important to learn how to overcome those feelings because when you can’t share your ideas and thoughts in your group, you do not only miss out on the discussion but you miss out on the opportunities for you to present your own ideas that could have benefited the discussion. Here are a couple ways to calm the nerves: 1) take a deep breath and let out all the nerves as you breathe out. It’s like a little yoga breathing exercise before you talk : P 2) Think positively: Just like you when you were younger and your athletic coach told you to perform a new trick they would say, NEVER say you CAN’T. Apply that concept to the group discussion. You CAN speak in front of the group, your ideas CAN be as beneficial to you as they are to the group. 3) Prepare: Get your ideas organized before the day you meet up in your group. Just like when you are preparing a speech for your public speaking class. Know the material and you’ll feel confident in sharing your ideas. These exercises could help you and I to become better communicators in a group setting and hopefully by the end of the semester, to become better critical thinkers as well. :)
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