The one human fear that can be overcome from your sofa.

In October 24, a fun survey about people’s top fears around Halloween time was published by my favourite behavioural research company, Dectech.

All the fears you would expect to see in a Halloween survey came up …
Ghosts.
Blood.
Spiders.

A couple of surprises made the mix …
Deep lakes.
Sharks.
(Did the participants know this was a Halloween survey?)

But here’s the one that got me.
Public speaking came up as the number 2 fear of people in the UK. The fear has a name - glossophobia - and is always up there on these lists of top human fears. Even in surveys around Halloween time.

Time and again, public speaking is named as one of human’s top fears, and this leads me to one of the most striking things I believe about the world of work.

Here’s my thinking:
1. Many people list public speaking as one of their top fears
2. Many people have to speak publicly, or at least in groups, as part of their day job
3. Even though this is a daily fear, most people do nothing about it.

In short form:
I am terrified of it.
I do it nearly every day.
But I do nothing about it.

Is it just me, or does that strike you as wild?

Fix it from the comfort of your sofa.
If you want to banish those demons when it comes to public speaking, then check out the online masterclass here at Better Public Speaking. With more than 50 short clips you can take the course at your own pace, wherever you are. It has to be one of the few human fears that you can start to conquer from the comfort of your own sofa. It can’t help with a fear of sharks though, sorry.