“Public speaking anxiety is defined as a certain type of communication apprehension or CA, where CA is defined as, “fear or anxiety associated with real or anticipated communication with another person or person” (O’Hair, Freidrich, Wiemann & Wiemann 344). Communication apprehension can be either a personality trait, where the individual feels apprehensive about any type of communication. Or more commonly, it is situational, where the level of anxiety depends on factors such as the nature of the communication and the size of the audience. This explains why an individual may be a confident speaker in an informal situation, but may still develop high levels of anxiety in a situation with a large audience or one that is seen as a threat. It is also important to note that it is not only the size of the audience that matters, the other factors in the situation also have an impact. For example, an individual may be comfortable giving a speech to several hundred school mates, but then experience anxiety if asked to speak in front of a formal board of directors, or to a group of children. This illustrates that it is the stress associated with the communication situation that determines the levels of anxiety experienced.”