Chapter 8 - Communication Apprehension

 Communication Apprehension

I experience high levels of communication apprehension on an everyday basis but could never put a name to it. According to Reflect and Relate, communication apprehension is the fear or anxiety associated with interaction, which keeps someone from being able to communicate cooperatively. In most interactions I feel discomfort while communicating with people, this can make it difficult for me to communicate effectively or how I would prefer. I tend to avoid social interactions because of this and makes it difficult for me to form relationships. I do not have many friendships; they only contain friends from work, and I never hang out with them outside of work. 

According to Reflect and Relate, I can overcome this barrier by developing communication plans, defined as, "mental maps that describe exactly how communication encounters will unfold — prior to interacting in the situations or with the people or types of people that cause your apprehension." Communication plans prepare you for future interactions so that the fear and anxiety do not keep you from becoming an effective communicator. We can do this by thinking about the topics that the conversation will hold, your message you want to get across, and how you might think the partner will respond. 


When I started my job as a gate attendant, I did not think I would make it. I had very high levels of communication apprehension and it made it very difficult for me to communicate with others, but after I prepared myself with communication plans, over time it got easier and easier. I thought about how I needed to communicate the message to property owners with certain questions and the ways in which I could respond, because of this I am the go-to in deescalating argumentative situations and have become a better communicator. I still have high levels of communication apprehension, but when communicating at work, it is low. 

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