The results of the present study indicate that situational factors such as perceived novelty, subordinate status, conspicuousness, dissimilarity and prior history correlate significantly with public speaking anxiety. A multiple regression equation accounted for 48.70% of the variance in public speaking anxiety scores with prior history, operationalized as CA scores, novelty and conspicuousness contributing to the prediction. Pedagocial implications include the importance of reducing students' perceptions of dissimilarity and producing and maintaining a noncritical, attentive classroom atmosphere during student performance.