With all the presentation skills training we run for senior executives, we have previously debunked the myth that 93% of communication is non-verbal.
And while it is true that many executives fear public speaking in some way (read our blog post for some tips on overcoming nerves), today we ask whether as is often said, people really fear public speaking more than death?!
This was a 1973 headline in the Sunday Times quoting a piece of market research that year by RH Bruskins Associates. You can listen here to BBC Radio 4’s More Or Less programme which ran a feature on this. It revealed how a simplistic research methodology and simplified media reporting has led to decades of misunderstanding.
What the researchers had done was present to about 2,500 American adults a list of 14 different fears. They were asked to tick as many of the 14 fears that they held. More people ticked public speaking anxiety than any of the other fears, including death (which came in 7th) – hence the zombie factoid that just won’t die. The other fears listed included financial problems, heights, loneliness, insects, deep water, darkness, sickness, flying, elevators, driving a car, dogs and escalators.
But there is a world of difference between adding up the number of times that each fear was ticked and asking which of the 14 they feared the most. It was not a comparison study. Just because something is the most commonly held fear, does not mean that it is what individuals fear the most.
When the study was repeated in 2012 by the College of Communication at the University of Nebraska, asking 815 students about the same 14 fears, a fear of public speaking was still the most common fear. But when asked which they feared the most, death was ranked the highest.
As further evidence, the programme highlighted an ongoing research project being run by Chapman University in California. Each year since 2014, they have asked a representative 1,000 Americans whether they are very afraid, afraid, slightly afraid or not afraid of 97 different fears.
Over the last ten years, public speaking has never appeared in the top 10, appearing instead near the middle or bottom of the list. Currently out of the 97 listed fears, public speaking ranks 53rd. It also shows that context is very important. When asking about 97 different fears which include fear of being murdered, assaulted, the death of someone you love, world war, pollution of drinking water, biological warfare, cyber terrorism and corrupt government officials among others, then maybe public speaking just isn’t that worrisome after all!
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