Communication Apprehension in High School Students with Professional Practices

Abstract

Popularized by McCroskey (1970), the term "communication apprehension" is the broad term that refers to an individual's "fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons" (McCroskey, 2001, p. 40). Research on high school students has been limited as well as testing on specific programs to decrease communication apprehension in high school students. With this in mind, the authors examined students at a high school program designed to train professional skills were surveyed before and after their training on presentations. Results indicated students associated less anxiety with public speaking after one semester of professional practice instruction.