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1. There are 8 factors noting the the attributions of anxiety of beginning communication 3 students when they first stepped into the classroom. Factor 1, 2, and 7 are 'expectations' 'training and exposure', and 'preparation', respectively, and these could be related to the fear and panic that people feel towards COVID-19.

Expectations are attributions that explained fears related to what students anticipated as the probable failure on their part as speakers. These fears typically stem from lack of experience in public speaking. Similarly, because the Filipino mass aren't as well versed with the details of COVID-19, they expect the worst of the virus, like how performers tend to imagine the worst of scenarios happening to them pre- and mid- performance before they've actually went up on stage. They thus believe that they are not prepared to address this crisis and consequently, overcompensate. Cue: mass panic, grocery hoarding, and mask wearing.

Otherwise, research shows that when under stress, we may have an automatic “fight or flight” response.

This sometimes manifests during public speaking anxiety, wherein a performer tends to either clam up (flight) or ramble on (fight) from nerves. This could be patterned after the COVID-19 outbreak, wherein people are either out mass purchasing goods to last throughout the breakdown (fight) or locking themselves in in isolation (flight).

2. These instances could be addressed if people were more informed about the virus. E.G. They'd realize that they do not actually need to wear face masks all the time as the virus is not airborne, and wearing a face mask can actually be detrimental to themselves and society. Instead of hysteria coming from imagination, people could make informed decisions. We could note how South Korea had addressed this COVID-19 outbreak, wherein their infection rate is currently falling without needing to resort to citywide lockdowns. One aspect they used in being able to do this was improved public communication. The role of the government was emphasized in making sure that the citizens were aware of the situation and the virus. Measures they've taken include: twice daily media briefings and emergency alerts sent by mobile phone to those living or working in districts where new cases have been confirmed. Details about the travel histories of confirmed patients are also available on municipal websites, sometimes with breakdowns of a patient’s residence or employer. We must remember that the management of this outbreak is a community effort, we cannot merely look out for ourselves because it is by the safety of others that we remain safe too. We should take a proactive step in disseminating information to our peers. Otherwise, because state interference is necessary in order to mediate control, all the more should we be critical, and thereby vocal of these criticisms, of the government's actions in addressing this crisis.

Del Villar, C.P. (2010). Beginning Filipino students’ attributions about oral communication anxiety. Retrieved from http://www.academicjournals.org/jmcs
Goldstein, D.S. (2011). Adrenal Responses to Stress. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3056281/
Park, C.K. (2020). Coronavirus: South Korea’s infection rate falls without citywide lockdowns like China, Italy. Retrieved from https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3074469/coronavirus-south-korea-cuts-infection-rate-without?fbclid=IwAR0Su-OVrdEdvAhxojwFRLxvaI8FrdK60sdzD514iyWbt-0FtkxsvKbCGBI

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1. - There's a lot about the pandemic and how people react to it that appeals to fear. Even if a lot of people are not as aware of the nature of the virus—there’s actually a 3.9% mortality rate in China & 1.5% outside of China—there’s no doubt that people are afraid of it despite other equally important issues like global warming and the current political climate of the Philippines. [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30195-X/fulltext]

- I feel like both are related in terms of fear, in the sense that there is a risk for both. With COVID, it’s getting the virus and testing positive, and with public speaking, it’s not meeting expectations or exhibiting factors affecting anxiety.

- When it comes to panic, I guess both cases turn to preventive measures. People literally panic buy and hoard materials and resources they think will protect them from COVID 19. Moreover, each capable person’s hoarding is also a poor man’s chance at survival obliterated. Likewise with communication apprehension, since the communicator is focusing on the factors that come into play, he/she convinces his/herself somehow not to communicate instead.

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Coronavirus Is Our Future | Alanna Shaikh | TEDxSMU

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Fear

Research and Confirmation

COVID: Fact-checking online in order to confirm the appropriate information regarding the details of prevention, the situation on the disease globally and locally, and the state of the communities you reside in.

CA: Going beyond memorization and focusing more on mastery of your respective topics to ensure that you know what you are talking about; think of yourself as a debater preparing to prove a point.

Panic

Management

COVID: Limit how much materials people can buy. There are already stores who limit how many bottles of alcohol a customer can buy, but there’s not much limit on other materials.

CA: Organization is an essential skill for speakers as it prevents us from making a mess when presenting. When we take steps such as following a process in creating our speeches to providing a clear criteria and preparing a complete outline before delivery, we ensure success in our presentations.

Reference (applicable to both fear and panic):

Lumen Learning Provides Tips in Public Speaking Competency

This is more of a process of practice that incorporates research and confirmation than the actual researching and confirmation of information that a speaker must undertake.

Furthermore, it also emphasizes the need for organizing and “creating a pattern” to articulate points in presentation.

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We assume you are reading this book or chapter because you wish to improve your speaking skills - a worthy goal. As Ayn Rand alludes to in her quote, a desire to succeed is the first step in achieving this objective. Nevertheless, you cannot hit a target unless you know what it is. Thus, the final portion of this chapter is devoted to an overview of eleven speaking competencies which we consider to be the standards for evaluating a variety of presentations at every level of mastery. These are based on the Public Speaking Competence Rubric [PSCR]. A complete copy of the rubric can be found at Activities.

2. Engaging introduction. To formulate an introduction that orients the audience to the topic and the speaker is the second speaking competency. An advanced speaker writes an introduction that contains an excellent attention-getter. She firmly establishes her credibility. She provides a sound orientation to the topic, states her thesis clearly, and previews her points in a cogent and memorable way. For the beginning speaker, her attention-getter is mundane and she somewhat develops her credibility. Her thesis is awkwardly composed and she provides little direction for the audience. The ineffective speaker has no opening technique, no credibility statement and provides no background on the topic. In addition she has no thesis statement and no preview of her points.

Don't leave inferences to be drawn when evidence can be presented. -Richard Wright

4. Well-supported ideas. Fourth on the list of speaking competencies is to locate, synthesize, and employ compelling supporting materials. In the advanced speaker's speech, her key points are well supported with a variety of credible materials, and her sources provide excellent support for her thesis. In addition, all of her sources are clearly cited. A beginning speaker has points that are generally supported with a fair mix of materials. Only some of her evidence supports her thesis, and her source citations need to be clarified. An ineffective speaker gives a speech with no supporting materials or no source citations.

6. Clear and vivid language. To demonstrate a careful choice of words is the sixth speaking competency. An advanced speaker's language is exceptionally clear, imaginative and vivid. Her language is also completely free from bias, grammatical errors and inappropriate usage. The beginning speaker selects language that is adequate to make her point. She has some errors in grammar and occasionally uses slang, jargon or awkward sentence structure. The ineffective speaker has many errors in her grammar and syntax. She also mispronounces words and extensively uses slang, jargon, and/or sexist or racist terms.

Body language is a very powerful tool. We had body language before we had speech, and apparently, 80% of what you understand in a conversation is read through the body, not the words. - Deborah Bull

9. Adapted to the audience. The ninth speaking competency is to successfully adapt the presentation to the audience. The advanced speaker shows how information is important to audience members, and his speech is tailored to their beliefs, values and attitudes. He may also make allusions to culturally shared experiences. A beginning speaker assumes but does not articulate the importance of the topic. His presentation is minimally adapted to the audience, and some of the ideas presented in the speech are removed from the audience's frame of reference or experiences. An ineffective speaker's speech is contrary to the audience's beliefs, values and attitudes. His message may be generic or canned and no attempt is made to establish common ground.

10. Adept use of visual aids. To skillfully make use of visual aids is the tenth competency. Exceptional explanation and presentation of visual aids is characteristic of the advanced speaker. Her speech has visuals that provide powerful insight into the speech topic, and her visuals are of high professional quality. The beginning speaker's visual aids are generally well developed and explained, although there may be minor errors present in the visuals. An ineffective speaker uses visual aids that distract from her speech. Her visuals may not be relevant, or her visuals may be of poor professional quality.

Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn. - Benjamin Franklin

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We assume you are reading this book or chapter because you wish to improve your speaking skills - a worthy goal. As Ayn Rand alludes to in her quote, a desire to succeed is the first step in achieving this objective. Nevertheless, you cannot hit a target unless you know what it is.

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1. In the same way that people feel fear and panic toward COVID-19 because it’s in our nature to be terrified of the unknown, we think that people also experience communication anxiety and apprehension because we are unsure of how what we have to say will be received. The world has not completely found its way around COVID-19, more so the Philippines, whose government has not employed appropriate strategies to actually mitigate the problem. In relation to public speaking, we feel anxious when we are treading uncharted waters. We feel unsafe where we are because we do not know what’s going to happen, and we are afraid of going about how we always have because we fear we may contract the disease, which may lead to us being stigmatized. We can liken this to feeling hesitant towards public speaking because we fear we may say the wrong things, and thus our audience may see us differently.

And yet, perhaps the way around this panic is preparedness, whether it be in the context of COVID-19 or public speaking. We think this feeling of anxiety may be curtailed when we get a full grasp of our environment, and in the process knowing full well what we should do. In the same way that we should prepare well to avoid contracting disease, people must also prepare well before delivering a speech, taking all aspects in consideration: physically, mentally, and emotionally.

2. From a communication perspective, you can solve these problems and tensions by having a clear and consistent communication between the government and its citizens. Recently, inconsistency in the announcement of curfew resulted to a lot of panic and fear among people. Moments after the announcement of the curfew, the government suddenly shifted into not having curfew anymore.

According to the Agenda-Setting Theory by McCombs and Shaw: "The influence of media affects the presentation of the reports and issues made in the news that affects the public mind. The news reports make it in a way that when a particular news report is given importance and attention than other news the audience will automatically perceive it as the most important news and information are given to them. The priorities of which news comes first and then the next are set by the media according to how people think and how much influence will it have among the audience."

The government, being the authority of the state, should be careful in making their decisions and broadcasting it to the public. Filipinos will depend on their announcements because they think that it is the most important and legitimate.  The rampancy of COVID-19 alone is already causing a lot of fear and panic, what more when there emerges confusion due to the inconsistency of news and information?

References:
in Advertising, P. relations. (2019, October 27). Agenda Setting Theory. Retrieved from https://www.communicationtheory.org/agenda-setting-theory/

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The fear of something often hinders us from confronting and knowing that something fully well. Because of this, we just tend to believe and adapt whatever is comfortable, and totally miss the point of learning from our fear and eventually conquering that fear.

Fear and panic being experienced by most Filipinos due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, make them look past the necessary information they need to know first that's why the strong emotions rule them more than the sense of reason just like experiencing stage fright, where public speakers who suffer from this just let their anxiety overwhelm them, hindering them to deliver their speech with clarity and skill.

Fear and panic due to COVID-19 make people tend to do panic buying. share fake news in social media regarding the virus, hoard medical supplies, etc., leading to worse outcomes like more infected individuals. We can also notice and relate here the two categories of Communication Apprehension (CA); Trait CA and State CA. Trait CA is really present because of a certain individual's perception and personality while State CA occurs because of the moment communication actually arise. Trait CA can be compared to when people who are really just pessimistic and has the tendency to panic eventually do show apprehensive behaviors when triggered by the idea of being infected by COVID-19 while State CA can be compared to when people really are already actually in danger of containing the virus and at the same time, panicking and being not able to think straight and reasonable, therefore not being able to practice proper procedures of not spreading the virus like wearing a mask, consulting to a medical professional and self-quarantine.

Using the communication perspective, we can deal with this dilemma by:

1.  Addressing to the public that debilitating fear and panic won't help the situation by answering to the frequently asked questions by the citizens regarding the crisis.

2. Conducting systematic desensitization, where people can be assured that solutions are being implemented by consistent broadcasting of the truth and only the truth behind what is really happening.

3. Doing cognitive restructuring, changing the perspective and perception of people regarding the crisis by spreading not hysteria but viable information and facts like live feeds directly from DOH,  trust-worthy news updates and also educating not only oneself but also others about the real nature of the pandemic.

4. Allowing the people to give critical feedback regarding the situation with the government and other responsible departments addressing and hearing them out and giving out proper reactions and necessary actions and reassurance of safety to the public.

https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/10-1-managing-public-speaking-anxiety/

https://www.thoughtco.com/public-speaking-anxiety-psa-1691551

https://www.genardmethod.com/blog/bid/169656/top-10-causes-of-speech-anxiety-that-create-fear-of-public-speaking

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1. Like in the video/meme linked in this note, people have that doubt/anxiety when taking actions while they're up there on stage to speak to an audience. The same way the virus limits our interactions with others, CA limits the speaker's connection with the audience.

2. AIDING THE RESPONSE FOR THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC FROM A COMMUNICATION PERSPECTIVE

INFORMATION ON EVENTS
Local cases
Presscon dates
DOH statements

EXPERT CONSULTATIONS
Individual contribution to health and safety
Localized health procedures

WORLD UPDATES
WHO announcements
Cases
Vaccines and Testing

PUBLIC RECOMMENDATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

CMC FOR WORK AND EDUCATION
Encouraging other forms of communication

GOVERNMENT’S ASSURANCE AND PUBLIC TRUST

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We believe one of the reasons why the Philippines is mostly scared about the virus is not because of the virus itself but rather knowing that the country lacks inadequate sources to combat this virus. Seeing the news from other countries and how they manage to contain the virus, we think the Filipinos fear more the inadequacy of the government's capability to address this issue. We believe that the government lacks training and resources, knowing how the administration is. Comparing it to the fear felt by Filipino students with public speaking, a lot feel frightened because of this lack of practice and experience with performing a speech in front of a crowd

Factor 7 - Preparation
Also, In preparing for a public speaking event, one of the major factors is preparation. It causes anxiety to people when he/she hasn’t prepared or practiced in delivering the speech, because some words may come out wrong, or she may lose track of his thoughts. Same as with the current COVID-19 scare, people are afraid because of the lack of preparedness by both the locals and the government. This is basically shown in the “panic buying” headlines because a lot of people are afraid that they would run out of stocks at home due to the lockdowns. If the government has prepared and warned it’s citizens ahead, a lot of people would have developed a better plan instead of panicking.

Lastly, We can relate fear and anxiety of students towards public speaking and the fear of people toward COVID-19  through causes. Two causes I would like to point out are fear of mistakes and failures and attention and isolation. I think that for one, people are afraid because obviously somewhere and somehow a mistake was made that caused the outbreak and there was failure to contain it from its origin/source. Mistakes and failures also come to mind because our responsibility to our own health is crucial, having improper hygiene and going to crowded places is a mistake that could lead to unwanted sickness. Attention and isolation also came to mind because, we’ve now drawn much attention to the outbreak of the virus, finding out its symptoms, how it has affected many, and how to avoid it. Everyone is now fully aware of COVID-19 and the harms it could do us. People have set their attention to how to avoid by sharing updates and news about it and buying supplies to protect them from the virus. Lastly isolation, there has been an order for lockdown in Metro Manila, a chance to isolate those affected and prevent the virus from spreading. We can also do our part by isolating ourselves from staying at home and away from outdoors and crowded spaces.

In a communicative perspective, we think that by communicating and being more open to other would help us build confidence in preparedness not just for ourselves but also for the people around us. By being more self-aware and ready, and communicating that readiness to others, we can help each other out go through that barrier of anxiety.
We can also improve our situation by being socially aware, communicating and sharing the right information from verified sources, no to FAKE NEWS! As communication students, we can help by these to lessen panic and fear.

Here are some links that can help up us in coping with the changes from the virus outbreak :-----)
https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-emergencies/coronavirus-school-closures/solutions?fbclid=IwAR0rL77Owf5FrnuScovqmZSw49vketLK-68HJdckTCRmsP93dcfTBLtx5aI

https://web.facebook.com/OfficialUPDiliman/posts/2793275924082876 https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-emergencies/coronavirus-school-closures/solutions?fbclid=IwAR0rL77Owf5FrnuScovqmZSw49vketLK-68HJdckTCRmsP93dcfTBLtx5aI