An examination of the impact of performance visualization

This investigation examined whether performance visualization impacts the way high communication apprehensive (CA) people envision themselves as public speakers. To that end, a pre/post test control group experiment was executed. The pre and post‐tests, among other things, involved having people deliver a short speech and draw how they envisioned themselves as speakers. In one condition they were exposed to performance visualization prior to the post‐test, in the placebo condition they read some material, and in the control condition they did not do anything between the pre and post‐tests. The valence (i.e., positive/neutral/negative tone), vividness (i.e., amount of detail), and control (i.e., in control, being controlled, control not in evidence) of the pre/post‐test drawings were compared across conditions. These data indicated that the nature of these drawings changed in the performance visualization group but not in the placebo and control groups. In particular, high CAs depicted themselves in a more positive, vivid and “in control”; fashion after exposure to performance visualization than did those in the control or placebo conditions. It is well documented that performance visualization reduces CA, but little evidence is available on how performance visualization accomplishes that end. These data suggest that performance visualization is effective, in part, because it alters the way people envision themselves as speakers.