5 thoughts on “Glossophobia: The Fear of Public Speaking

  1. It’s interesting that the fear could stem from a low self-esteem or a negative past experience but 75% of people have it. Maybe that says something about the society we live in. It’s also interesting that only 24% of college graduates have it. I guess the education we pay for really is useful.

  2. I agree when you mentioned that this could possibly causes issues within people’s careers. Although I would have hoped that the people with this fear know best to pick a job options that doesn’t have too much public speaking. I do believe that this a common problem among lots of people, I know that I experience stress when speaking in front of other people although it doesn’t stay for long.

  3. It really stinks how inevitable having to face this fear is, and how you can really only deal with it with practice. I think it’s really interesting how the education level can have that much of an impact on the percentage of people with the fear. I wonder how much of a difference has been made in that statistic since colleges have implemented more targeted public speaking classes to build this skill and cope with this fear.

  4. Public speaking was (and still kinda is) one of my worst nightmares. Public Speaking and performing go hand in hand and I have to say, I’m just as terrified of it now as I was when I first started speaking and performing. The goal is to learn to use that anxiety as a strength. I know now that if I don’t feel some form of anxiety about a performance, it means I don’t care about it, which is not a good thing (I have rarely felt that though). Great Post!

  5. I can definitely relate to this fear. I actually get more nervous when the crowd is smaller. In a smaller crowd, I can see everyone I am talking or singing to, and I am scared of judgement. For me, context matters, too. I can sing or talk in some places without a problem, while others cause me to fear. I agree with Isaac, however, that some fear is good. Especially in situations that require focus, some fear can keep your energy up enough to get through. It is so interesting that a college education tends to decrease this fear. That gives me hope!

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