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Communication scholars Michael T. Motley, Professor Emeritus at UC Davis, and Jennifer Molloy suggest that public speaking anxiety depends to a large extent on one’s “cognitive orientation” towards the speaking situation.
Individual speakers fall at different places along a continuum between performance orientation and communication orientation.
Performance oriented speakers tend to be more anxious, because they expect to be evaluated by a critical audience. They worry about delivering a perfect performance (from their vocal delivery to their gestures) and fear failure and judgment.
Communication oriented speakers, on the other hand, are focused on getting their message across. They tend to perceive public speaking as similar to conversations in everyday life, which helps them relax and connect with their audience.
Speech Anxiety: Performance vs. Communication Orientation
Motley, Michael T. “Public Speaking Anxiety Qua Performance Anxiety: A Revised Model and Alternative Therapy.” Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 5 (1990): 85–104.
Motley, Michael T., and Jennifer L. Molloy. “An Efficacy Test of a New Therapy (’Communication-Orientation Motivation’) for Public Speaking Anxiety.” Journal of Applied Communication Research 22, no. 1 (February 1994): 48–58.
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