31 Fear Of Public Speaking Statistics (Prevalence)

Key Fear Of Public Speaking Statistics

1. Around 15 million people deal with glossophobia (fear of public speaking) on a daily basis.
2. 75% of the population has a fear of public speaking. That means more than 200 million people feel nervous about talking to others.
3. 40 million people in the U.S. aged 18 or older suffer from different forms of anxiety when it comes to public speaking.
4. 89.4% of patients with social anxiety disorder have a fear of public speaking.
5. 90% of the population reports some “shyness” when it comes to giving a public speech.
6. The past-year’s prevalence of specific phobia was around 9.1% among U.S. adults aged 18 or older. 5.8% of males had specific phobia while 12.2% of females did as well.
7. 74% of “statistic brain survey” respondents admitted to having speech anxiety.
8. 10% of the population loves speaking in front of people, 10% are terrified of speaking in front of people, while 80% fall somewhere in the middle.
9. 6% of men in America fear public speaking. Slightly more women fear it (8%).​
10. Only 8% of individuals with public speaking fears seek professional help despite the documented negative impact it has on career and wages.
11. 90% of the anxiety we feel before making a presentation comes from lack of preparation.
12. Confidence increases with age, with 69% of people aged 45 and over feeling quite or very confident compared to only 25% of 16 to 24 year old individuals.
13. 44% of women and 37% of men said they were afraid of public speaking.
14. Survey respondents who had a high school diploma or less expressed more fear than college graduates.
15. Research estimates put the price tag on treating anxiety disorders and phobias such as glossophobia is between $42.3 billion and $46.6 billion per year.
16. Audience engagement levels are higher when attendees do most of the talking.
17. Audience participation level begins to drop off quite dramatically after 30 minutes.
18. 46% of presenters feel that the most difficult part of creating a successful presentation is crafting a compelling story.
19. 90% of presenters believe that a strong narrative in a presentation is critical for engagement.
20. 55% of presenters believe that a great story is primarily what holds their focus during a presentation.
21. As a rule of thumb, your introduction should take up around 10% of your total presentation time.
22. Fear of public speaking hinders promotion to management by 15%.
23. The average audience attention span is only 8 to 10 minutes.

Public Speaking Statistics

What percentage of people fear public speaking?

Around 75% of the population has a fear of public speaking to a certain degree. That means more than 200 million people feel nervous about talking to others.

How many people have glossophobia?

Are men or women more likely to fear public speaking?

Men are more at ease when speaking in front of an audience. One survey found that 44% of women reported they were afraid of public speaking while 37% of men agreed.

Does education affect glossophobia rates?

The more educated someone is, the more comfortable you might be with public speaking. In one survey, 24% of college graduates expressed a fear of public speaking, while 52% of respondents with a high school diploma or less also felt the fear.

Does race affect glossophobia rates?

In the same poll mentioned above, 43% of white people felt scared about public speaking, but only 34% of people of other races agreed.

How common is social anxiety disorder?

Around 12.1% of U.S. adults experience social anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.

What is the lifetime prevalence rate for anxiety?

The worldwide lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders is 16.6%, which refers to the number of people who will experience a particular condition at some point in their lives.

When does social anxiety usually develop?

Social anxiety disorder usually starts before 20 years of age.

Sources

1. National Institute of Mental Health
2. Anxiety and Depression Association of America
3. Gallup
4. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research
5. Harvard Business School