Leiden Public Speaking Task

The task contains five phases: baseline (of which 5 minutes standing, 15 minutes after start of the baseline), anticipation (3 mins), preparation (5 mins), speech delivery (5 mins), and recovery (of which 5 mins standing, approximately 10 mins after the end of the speech). During the baseline, the participant watches a wildlife documentary.

In the anticipation phase, the participant is remembered about the upcoming task and detailed instructions are given again. Subsequently, the participant is given some time to prepare the speech (preparation phase). Participants are asked to deliver their speech in front of a pre-recorded audience consisting of age-matched peers and a teacher (Avero & Calvo, 1999; Westenberg et al., 2009).