The communication of public speaking anxiety: Perceptions of Asian and American speakers

In the present study, levels of self‐perceived speaker anxiety, audience members' perceptions of speaker anxiety, and the relationship between these variables, is examined for American and non‐American (Asian) student speakers. The results show that American audiences perceive Asian speakers to have more speech anxiety than American speakers, even though Asian speakers do not self‐report higher anxiety levels. The findings also confirm that speech state anxiety is not communicated effectively between speakers and audiences for Asian or American speakers. Explanations and implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are provided.