Motivation Builds Confident Speakers

Although many students possess strong linguistic skills, they often struggle to present in front of a large audience. Instructors typically instruct students to make presentations, but they do not provide guidance on how to effectively present. This has led me to explore why numerous students find it challenging to deliver successful presentations to a crowd. The relationship between psychological motivation and increased student confidence is very crucial to improving their performance. One of the objectives of educators is to impart confidence in their learners. 

Achieving this can be a lengthy and demanding process since preparing students for public speaking is not an easy job. Skills for facing an audience equip students with vital professional competencies, such as leadership, communication, and emotional intelligence. Essentially, this contributes to their all-inclusive development in both academia and future careers. As potential professionals, students need to exhibit their leadership abilities during their college years by applying theoretical concepts practically. While they may manage to cover theoretical material, when tasked with presenting it to an audience, they often become self-conscious, judgemental of themselves and others, overly critical, and forget much of what they planned to say. An important issue that learners face in Nepal is the limited opportunities to practise public speaking. The effectiveness of a presentation in front of an audience involves various factors, including intelligence, attitudes, skills, and motivation; among these, motivation is the primary element influencing academic success.

   Public speaking abilities are showcased through verbal presentations, stage performances, group discussions, and conversations. Many students struggle with speaking skills, and they should be trained to practise in front of others, which can also enhance their public speaking abilities. To improve speaking skills, engaging in public speaking practice is crucial, as it helps motivate students to overcome their fear of speaking publicly and boosts their motivation levels. 

A supportive environment and a positive attitude significantly influence student’s learning experiences. Positive reinforcement strengthens student’s self-esteem by making them feel appreciated. The goals of teaching and learning are tied to learner’s success, which can only be attained through a motivating classroom atmosphere. Research by Morgan and Kingston indicates that a motivational classroom environment is linked to the psychological environment, where teaching and learning focus on understanding what reinforces students’ success through their mental state.

Various theories put forth by different researchers are essential in raising high motivation to improve mass-facing skills. For instance, Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, Gardner's integration motivational theory, Piaget's cognitive theory, and Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences all contribute to this effort.

Vygotsky emphasised the importance of group work, collaborative efforts, and individual tasks for the personal development of students. His sociocultural theory suggested that students have varying learning abilities. Educators should understand these diverse learning capabilities and respond accordingly to improve the overall learning experience. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory speculates that recognising students' cultural and social backgrounds, along with providing personalised individual attention from teachers, serves as a significant motivator in enhancing their learning prospective. Gardner emphasised that motivation is crucial in both educational and social environments; his integrated motivation theory highlights the significance of learners’ intrinsic drive to master soft skills such as public speaking. Additionally, Gardner’s concept of instrumental motivation relates to the self-driven motivation for achieving learning goals.

And Piaget’s Cognitive Theory explained that the communicative approach improves public speaking skills. In addition, it also solves the psychological di stress problem with a solution. This theory stresses the importance of consistent practice to enhance public speaking skills that finally prepare one to face the mass with self-confidence. Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences has also played a great role as a therapeutic effect on learners, especially those who undergo psychological distress, by acknowledging multiple talents of an individual. This acknowledgement helped students develop positive self-images by letting them know about their true potentialities and unique talents. Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences has sparked the imaginations of many educators, whereby they are reforming their approaches to teach the students. The theory of multiple intelligences raises fundamental questions of instruction and assessment. Multiple intelligence theory is concerned with instruction, curriculum design and assessments. This theory has given a direction to the teachers or educators on how to make students feel special, respected, appreciated and motivated. 

Educators can support students with encouragement and provide them with guidelines for presentations before they present to larger audiences. Delivering content to an audience requires strong motivation from teachers, classmates, family, and the community. This support can help in overcoming any obstacles that may arise when it comes to presenting in front of a mass. Instructors should integrate positive affirmations into their teaching and learning methods, particularly for those students who experience self-doubt about their ability to present despite having the necessary language skills.

(The author is a visiting assistant professor at Kathmandu University School of Law and Engineering and a lecturer at Samriddhi College.)