Home > News > March 2005 > 16-Mar-2005

Fear of public speaking is stopping people getting on in business, says survey

Nearly one in two Brits are more scared of making presentations than they are of dying, according to a new survey.

The survey found that despite almost half (48%) of the UK’s adult population making presentations to large audiences as part of their working life, 42% consider it to be one of their biggest fears. Yet one in three (34%) also believed that better presentation skills would significantly improve their career prospects.

The research has been conducted on behalf of interactive technology distributor Promethean AV Distribution, and presentation coaches The Confident Club. It discovered that while one in two listed public speaking as a top fear, one in four admitted to being scared of dying (28%) and spiders (24%), and one in three (34%) to being afraid of heights.

Commenting on the findings, Steve McDermott, international business speaker and presentation coach, said he was not surprised to see presentation skills ranked highly as a business skill. "People’s ability to sell their ideas and influence those around them is often the key to their success," he explained.

"The majority of people tend to panic when faced with the prospect of making a presentation to a large audience. However, while some of the other fears such as heights and spiders are in-built survival instincts, the fear of public speaking is very much a learned fear; which means it can also be ‘unlearned’ with the right set of beliefs and strategies.

"The problem stems from people believing they have to be perfect. No one gets it right all the time and giving yourself permission to not be perfect, even embracing the mistakes you make, is part of understanding what makes a good presentation."

The research also showed that of those who do present as part of their working life, the majority seem to be stuck in the 20th century when it comes to props and equipment. 61% claim they still rely on overhead projectors to illustrate their talks whilst 59% rely on paper flipcharts and 47% on dry marker whiteboards. 52% use laptops and PowerPoint while only 12% use interactive technology.

"Many over-rely on presentation software, archaic equipment and bullet point slides, while failing to engage with their audience," said McDermott. "This makes it much harder to retain their attention and ensure they are taking in the information you want them to. We believe this is a situation which can be reversed with the right coaching and intelligent use of presentation technology."

The research was conducted in February 2005 by YouGov using a UK representative sample of 2,000 adults.

YouGov Survey Results:

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