But, again, the focus is on the argument, not on making an impression on the audience. A speaker who suggests that the argument should be believed because he or she is a nice person is wasting everyone's time. In practical terms, one should always spend a few seconds at the podium before one begins to allow a transformation to occur. The transformation is one from a normal human being with fears and insecurities to being a speaker, the vessel chosen for a particular situation to transmit a powerful and important idea. Behavior Modification Trying to be completely relaxed during a speech is both undesirable and impossible.
Audiences expect a speaker to be intense about the subject matter.
But intensity is not the same thing as anxiousness, and a speaker should focus all of his or her energies on suppressing manifestations of anxiety. There is no cure for speech anxiety, but eliminating the symptoms of anxiety is clearly possible. Some of the more common manifestations of anxiety are trembling, fidgeting, a weak or quivering voice, and losing one's concentration, all of which are correctable. These symptoms are usually most acute at the beginning of a speech and generally dissipate as the speaker moves into the heart of the argument. Indeed, by the end of most speeches, there are usually no signs of anxiety for even the most nervous speakers.