From my past experience in school and work-related situations, when a person has to speak in front of a larger group of people, many appear nervous and/or comment that they are extremely uncomfortable being the center of attention. I am a new lead instructor for academia which is dumbfounding to me because I also have a fear of speaking in front of large groups.
For my first face-to-face class encounter which was a three-hour session, not only did I have to appear confident in front of my students, but I had to "sell" the concept that public speaking was "no big deal". To accomplish this goal, I removed myself from behind the podium that stood in front of the class and moved in closer to the students so it would feel more intimate/less awkward to me and less authoritative to the students. This decision made it feel more like we were a group of friends rather than a group of strangers and made course review and class introductions/interacting less intimidating. I also feel that adding humor is a huge ice breaker and significantly reduces anxiety of feeling vulnerable in front of complete strangers. I accomplished this goal when taking attendance when I had the students stand up when their name was announced and asked them a random, off-the-wall question to share about themselves with the class to get to know them better. The whole purpose was to get them to let their guards down and just be real. The questions more often than not elicited humorous responses and initiated short conversations.
I have not taught an online class yet, but I feel that in an online environment, students may feel more comfortable speaking in front of a large group because the intensity of raw feelings/anxiety within an intimate space cannot be felt on a screen as it can in a real environment. I feel the downside of an online environment is that students have more opportunity not to pay attention or interact because they can turn their cameras and microphones off and can be subjected to having technical difficulties which can impede participation. It's also easier to be distracted by the surrounding environment in a non-controlled/or more relaxed setting. To help facilitate an interactive experience, I would require for all cameras and microphones to be on (when appropriate) and try to consistently engage students with open-ended questions.
For my first face-to-face class encounter which was a three-hour session, not only did I have to appear confident in front of my students, but I had to "sell" the concept that public speaking was "no big deal". To accomplish this goal, I removed myself from behind the podium that stood in front of the class and moved in closer to the students so it would feel more intimate/less awkward to me and less authoritative to the students. This decision made it feel more like we were a group of friends rather than a group of strangers and made course review and class introductions/interacting less intimidating. I also feel that adding humor is a huge ice breaker and significantly reduces anxiety of feeling vulnerable in front of complete strangers. I accomplished this goal when taking attendance when I had the students stand up when their name was announced and asked them a random, off-the-wall question to share about themselves with the class to get to know them better. The whole purpose was to get them to let their guards down and just be real. The questions more often than not elicited humorous responses and initiated short conversations.
I have not taught an online class yet, but I feel that in an online environment, students may feel more comfortable speaking in front of a large group because the intensity of raw feelings/anxiety within an intimate space cannot be felt on a screen as it can in a real environment. I feel the downside of an online environment is that students have more opportunity not to pay attention or interact because they can turn their cameras and microphones off and can be subjected to having technical difficulties which can impede participation. It's also easier to be distracted by the surrounding environment in a non-controlled/or more relaxed setting. To help facilitate an interactive experience, I would require for all cameras and microphones to be on (when appropriate) and try to consistently engage students with open-ended questions.