Fear of public speaking statistics and fun facts [+Infographics]

Jenna Brandon
4 min readJun 10, 2023

There are some interesting facts and statistics about public speaking which would really take you by surprise. These are facts and statistics that one wouldn’t have imagined possible or thought about. While some facts are pure fan, others are a revelation.

The Greatest Fear

It is incredible to note that the fear of public speaking tops the greatest fears that trouble people according to a popular survey. In fact, this fear comes ahead of people’s fear of death, spiders, heights and confined spaces. This shows that people feel public speaking is a greater torture than any of these including death itself. The fear of public speaking is called glossophobia, and it is greater than the fear of death or necrophobia. Of course, public speaking can’t be that hard if you try.

The Longest, Shortest and the Speech that Killed

William Henry Harrison is credited for giving the longest speech at an inaugural ceremony. The speech comprising of 8445 words exposed him to cold and wet, killing him a month later through pneumonia. George Washington, on the other hand didn’t stress his vocal chords giving an inaugural speech just 135 words long. The longest speech in the House of Commons has been preserved since 1828. This famous speech lasted 6 hours.

The People Who Grow Anxious

Statistics shows that 3 out of every 4 people, amounting to 75%, have speech anxiety and this troubles them when they deliver public speeches. An almost obvious fact that we are led to from this is that many people are not reaching the higher echelons or succeeding like some of their equally talented colleagues because of this speech anxiety wave. Statistics shows that women suffer from speaking anxiety more than men, but it is true that the phobia or fear of public speaking affects both men and women equally. If you’re trying to make a career out of something, make sure you’re a confident public speaker and can deliver an amazing speech in case it’s needed. We offer a way to deal with public anxiety by using speech writing services to prepare astonishing speech for you. This way you win free time to practice it in front of the mirror or your friends. People state such practice helps them calculate reactions to their speech and how to handle them.

Commercial Aspect

At any given time, 5% of the world’s population aged between 5 and 50, suffer from the fear of speaking in open to others. That’s why men and women seek solutions to this fear, turning to hypnotherapy and self-help books to solve it more than any other known. So it’s no surprise that self-help books that help people with public speaking tips and promises of success are top sellers.

Ways to Relieve Anxiety

It is good to remember when you prepare for your public performance that public speaking isn’t just about the content, it’s about your voice, how you use it, and non-verbal communication. There always are great services that will help you with the content of your speech, whether it is a graduation speech, or a wedding one. Studies show that practicing in front of a mirror or in front of friends reduces anxiety levels for real appeal in front of an audience. We found a great list of public speaking statistics to help you improve your public speaking delivery. You are not alone in your struggle and statistics proves it but the data it brings will help you overcome the fear and make every person in the audience remember your appeal. Questionnaires show that motivational appeals inspire them to overcome their fears and work on the public speeches to reach the position and recognition. Our team found a list with the best motivational speeches videos to inspire you and help you relieve public speaking anxiety.

21 Public Speaking Facts and Statistics Worth Knowing

Public speaking is still a magical land, let’s call it like that, for a large number of people. Such articles allow us to open the curtain to this magical country and help us learn interesting facts, which, therefore, allows us to control ourselves and cope much better with public speaking. Our fun facts never end, great, right? Experts at our team prepared an infographic for you with 21 public speaking facts and statistics worth knowing.

Originally published at https://writology.com.

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Jenna Brandon

Jenna Brandon is a blogger, content creator, and digital marketer at Writology.com.