Easing Students’ Anxiety About Speaking in the Classroom

A lot of teaching includes on-the-job learning that is not taught in teacher prep programs. This can be especially tough on new teachers. For instance, just like in the real world, there will come a time in your classroom when students will be challenged to be “comfortable with the uncomfortable.” This is particularly true when students are tasked with speaking in front of the class.

Speaking front and center can be a daunting experience for anyone. No matter what age, grade, setting, or situation, at some point in time, anxiety settles in. This often occurs when students are asked to respond on the spot, participate in discussions, read out loud, or present ideas to the class. These speaking encounters can trigger stress and lead to mental blocks and self-doubt.

In a high school language arts classroom, that anxiety might look something like this: The teacher prompts students with questions about their independent reading books. Students know they will be randomly selected to respond. Looks of fear and stress radiate from their faces as the teacher decides who to call on.

How can this teacher support their students in decreasing their anxiety and training their minds and bodies to express nervousness in a way that supports learning? 

If students are experiencing fear, they may freeze up or offer a reply that is completely disconnected from the question. After an anxiety-driven response, students may walk away feeling shut down or embarrassed, or wishing they had another chance. Not only could a moment like this affect their grade, but more important, these experiences can diminish confidence and increase anxiety during future spontaneous speaking situations. 

Having a toolbox of strategies to support students in public speaking can be game-changing for both students and teachers. Here are strategies to try in your classroom. 

1. Use intentional language to build self-compassion

A major barrier to speaking effectively is the fear of sounding stupid or making mistakes. Many students tend to harshly judge themselves, which can lead to negative impacts on their mental health and self-esteem. As teachers, our job is to model nonjudgmental thinking, positivity, and self-compassion. Using intentional statements, like the ones below, invites students to speak more freely and confidently. 

It is best to sprinkle these statements into whole-classroom discussions as opportunities to speak arise. 

• “It’s OK to pause and gather your thoughts.”
• “Making mistakes is part of learning.”
• “Speak slowly and focus on your thoughts.”
• “Take a deep breath before you speak.”
• “Take five to 10 seconds to think, and then speak.”

2. Embrace the power of the pause

Speaking slowly and practicing deep breathing can calm our nervous systems in seconds. Make it a consistent effort in your classroom to model, reinforce, and explain the benefits of mindful breathing and taking your time to speak. Here are some of the positive benefits: 

• Improved comprehension: Listeners have more time to understand the information.
• Enhanced credibility: More measured speakers convey a sense of thoughtfulness and preparation.
• Greater impact: Intentional pauses can emphasize a critical point.

Practice breathing exercises and speaking slowly with students before presentations and discussions.

3. Use response structures

Encourage students to break down their ideas before speaking to avoid trying to think and share simultaneously. For instance, if a teacher asks a student to analyze a key event leading up to the Civil War, students can benefit from having extra time to think and a specific structure in place for responding. 

Create your own response structures, or use one of the models below to help students frame their thinking before speaking. Teachers can also use these structures for instruction:

• The PREP method (Point, Reason, Example, Point)
• The Rule of 3 (Organizing thoughts into three key points)
• The S.T.O.P. strategy (Stop, Think, Observe, Proceed)

These frameworks can support students in developing clarity and precision during participation opportunities. 

4. Try the water bottle trick

In public speaking, it is easy to perspire and flush as the nervous system is triggered by the fight-or-flight impulse. For students who are already self-conscious, these normal body responses may cause them to feel helpless and fear that they are being judged. 

One trick for counteracting these physical responses is to cool the body down through the hands. Have students try holding something cold in their hands while speaking, like a bottle of water. If your class doesn’t have access to something cold, have students try holding something tactile that will take their minds off of their anxiety.

Be sure the object is not noisy, visually flashy, or otherwise distracting to the audience. Objects like a small stone, a folded piece of paper, Play-Doh, a mini stress ball, or a pen are great objects to channel nervous energy without being disruptive.

Every student has the potential to be a confident speaker and an active participant in classroom discussions. It is our job as educators to offer strategies to our students to nurture their growth as active participants in learning. Speaking effectively is not only an integral part of academic success, but also a lifelong skill that will benefit them in every aspect of their future.