Case Study
1.
What might have caused Lisa to feel/react the way she did?
Answer:
The behaviour shown by Lisa was quite unusual and a number of assumptions can be made from that which are as follows:
· She is suffering from some social anxiety disorder that made her react like that. People with such disorders show some sort of confusion and lack of confidence. She had no clue what was going on with her even if she was prepared to deliver the speech. The gaze of the audience made her nervous.
· It can also be said that she was not well prepared for the speech. That’s why she showed nervousness and confusion.
· There might also be the possibility that she might have a phobia to talk in front of audience. And that fear made her does such unusual mistakes. And because of such things she felt guilt and ran out of the room in such embarrassment and took it as humiliation on herself and ran out of the room crying.
2. Pretend you were one of her classmates, how would you have felt?
Answer:
Being her classmate, it would have be a moment of shame for all of us that one of our fellows went out like that and none of us could help her to calm her down or help her to prepare the speech even after knowing that she had such phobia to deliver in front of audience. It was our duty to encourage her to deliver the speech and boost her moral so that she could cope. So instead of keeping quite we should applaud her when she came to the dice so she could be more comfortable.
3. What was the instructor’s reaction? How could s/he have prevented Lisa from “falling apart?”
Answer:
The teacher’s reaction was quite angry and aggressive towards Lisa even knowing how shy and nervous she was but instead of comforting her and boosting her confidence she talked her in a rude tone and scolded her. Knowing that Lisa was shy and nervous and her previous history about having anxiety and stress in such conditions she gave her a hard time. Even when Lisa was confused, frustrated and in tears the teacher didn’t take the proper action and calmed her stood there like that was not helpful to Lisa. She should have made an applauding gesture when she came to the podium and even if she knew earlier, she should have given her a practice session so she could perform more accurately, but the incident shouldn’t have happened.
4. What could Lisa have done to prevent reacting the way she did?
Answer:
To avoid such situation Lisa could have managed it more appropriately by acting more confidently and having a complete hold of situation. She should have practised it well and made a strong gesture even after getting nervous or being bumped into the podium. She should have interacted more with her classmates to create a good bond with them and do not hesitated in front of them.
5. What advice can you give Lisa to help her prepare for the next speech assignment?
Answer:
For the next speech Lisa should present the speech with more confidence and should practise it more often at home so that next time when she comes on the stage she could be more confident and less nervous. She should try to do some exercises to control her nerves. She should also create some good bonds with her classmates so that they can support her while presenting and could also help her in preparing the speech. She should practice in front of mirror and by knowing the kind of audience to get their attention.
6. How can the instructor and/or the students show support for Lisa when she returns to class?
Answer:
The class should welcome Lisa in a normal and a bit calming manner so that she doesn’t feel humiliated or embarrassed in front of everyone and should help her in getting out of her situation. They should applaud her and buckle her up so that she will not get nervous and become stable. The teacher should also talk to her in an understanding manner and give her another chance to present so she feels less frustrated and more calm and confident in the future.
BUILDING COMMUNITY AND REDUCING COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION: A CASE STUDY APPROACH (TILLSON, 1995)
Public Speaking 101: A Case Study
Directions: Read the case study and answer the questions individually first.
Be prepared to discuss your responses in your teams/groups.
Design a team/group presentation and present. You will have 10 minutes.
It was the first day of graded speeches in Public Speaking 101. Scott, the football team captain
and a 4.0 student, was nearing the end of his speech on the use of steroids in high school
athletics. He efficiently reviewed his main points and concluded his speech with a poignant story
about a teenager who died because he wanted to play football as best as he possibly could, even
if that meant taking drugs to do so.
“…Jason Robinson died in pursuit of excellence. There is no need for other youngsters to follow
in his footsteps to an early grave.”
His words ended on a quiet note and his classmates tentatively began to applaud before breaking
out into a loud ovation. Breathing a sigh of relief, Scott gathered his note cards from the podium
and began walking back to his desk in the third row of the classroom. His classmates were
obviously impressed.
“Way to go, man! Where’d you learn to talk like that?”
“Geez, I’m glad I don’t have to go next.”
“Was that a true story or did you just make it all up!”
I asked the students to write down their comments on Scott’s presentation while I finished
writing my own evaluation. A couple of minutes passed and students began talking among
themselves. I checked my sign-up sheet to see who would be delivering the next speech. It was
Lisa. My heart went out to the timid girl sitting two seats away from me. Lisa had registered for
my section of Public Speaking 101 last semester, but had dropped it before she had to make any
oral presentations in the class. I knew she was nervous probably more so than any of the other
students. As she dropped her stack of 4×6 note cards and busily tried to reorganize them, a
niggling little voice spoke in my mind. “Maybe you should have touched base with her last week
to see if she was ready for the assignment.” And then the voice of reason and practicality spoke
up, “You don’t have time to spoon feed every scared student.”
“OK, Lisa. You’re up next,” I said in what I hoped was an encouraging tone of voice. A petite,
blonde girl wearing wire-rimmed glasses and clasping note cards, stood, took a few audible gulps
of air, and walked toward the front of the classroom. Twenty-seven pairs of eyes looked in her
direction. Lisa cleared her throat and placed the note cards on the podium as the class had been
instructed to do. Her hands immediately grabbed onto the edge of the podium in a white-
knuckled, death grip. A flush slowly inched its way from her chest to her throat. As her cheeks
turned a blotchy, fire-engine red, she cleared her throat again and began to talk in a faltering,
timid voice.
BUILDING COMMUNITY AND REDUCING COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION: A CASE STUDY APPROACH (TILLSON, 1995)
“My speech is on…why children who commit violent crimes…should be tried as adults in the
court system,” she stumbled. “There are three reasons why children who commit violent crimes
should have to face adult penalties for their actions…”
Lisa got off to a rough start. “How many times had I told the class not to introduce a speech with
my speech is on or today I want to talk about,” I asked myself. “Where was the clever attention
getter no speech should be without?’
She continued, “The first reason why children who commit violent crimes should be tried as
adults is because…” Lisa fumbled through her preview. As she arranged her note cards, one fell
off the podium and slid under a nearby desk. No one else seemed to notice – except Lisa. She
appeared to freeze in time as she apparently wondered whether to retrieve the card or try to
continue without it. Her eyes looked scared and wild, like an animal caught by surprise in car
headlights on a dark road…Several seconds passed before Lisa decided what to do…As she
stepped out from behind the podium she bumped into it and the rest of the cards fluttered to the
floor. That mishap was the proverbial last straw. With a dumbstruck expression on her face, Lisa
abandoned her search for the lost note card, turned, and ran out of the room. Tears of frustration
and embarrassment already stained her blotchy cheeks. The classroom was uncomfortably quiet
except for the haunting sound of Lisa’s footsteps running down the tile hallway. With a sinking
feeling in my stomach, I looked away from the empty doorway and faced twenty-seven pairs of
eyes looking at me.
1. What might have caused Lisa to feel/react the way she did?
2. Pretend you were one of her classmates, how would you have felt?
3. What was the instructor’s reaction? How could s/he have prevented Lisa from “falling apart?”
4. What could Lisa have done to prevent reacting the way she did?
5. What advice can you give Lisa to help her prepare for the next speech assignment?
6. How can the instructor and/or the students show support for Lisa when she returns to class?
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