Introduction. Public speaking is an integral part of the educational and professional activities of students studying at pedagogical universities. The behavioral activity of speakers during a speech is often mediated by a stressful situation; some students show determination and organization, while others emotionally experience forced conditions. The article presents an assessment of a student's behavioral reactions during a public speech. The goal is to identify the features of behavioral reactions in public speaking among students with different levels of emotional intelligence.

Materials and methods. The study was conducted at the Department of General biology and physiology of the South Ural state humanitarian and pedagogical University. Based on informed consent, 20 4th-year students participated in the study. Emotional intelligence was assessed using the questionnaire of the same name by V.D. Lyusin. Behavioral responses of speakers were evaluated according to the algorithm proposed by Belousova N.A. and Baiguzhin P.A. To check the statistical significance of the results obtained, nonparametric statistical criteria of Mann-Whitney (for pairwise unrelated samples) and Wilcoxon (for related samples) were used.

Results. It was found that the subjects with a low level of emotional intelligence during a public speech are more anxious and confused, which is confirmed by their relatively high values of emotional instability. Only 20 % of those surveyed had a higher-than-average overall level of emotional intelligence, and they were more flexible and adaptive to changing conditions. The behavioral pattern of General tension among students in “situation № 2” is significantly higher than in "situation № 1". Subjects with a low level of emotional intelligence are more anxious and confused during a public speech, which is confirmed by their relatively high values of emotional instability. The results show that in the “situation № 1”, self-evaluating verbalization prevailed among students, and with the appearance of an additional “stress factor”, extralinguistics became pronounced.

Discussion. The revealed features of behavioral reactions combined into patterns in students during a speech are important psychophysiological indicators of the degree of their psychoemotional tension.

Conclusion. The data obtained indicate the need to apply methodological approaches in the course of training teachers that promote the development of students ' self-control and self-regulation of behavior while taking into account their emotional intelligence.

Data on behavioral responses of students with different levels of emotional intelligence in different situations of public speaking were obtained and analyzed.