Fear of a pandemic is more common in the U.S. than a fear of public speaking

Some coaches keep on trying to tell us that speaking in public is the number one fear, although a recent U. S. series of four annual surveys says otherwise. For example, on June 6, 2019 at ThriveGlobal an article by Michelle Tillis Lederman titled Overcome Your Public Speaking Fear opened by asking:

“Did you know that the #1 fear across society is public speaking? Death and snakes round out the top 3.”

Right now that alleged fear is not at the top of our minds. A pandemic virus is. On March 11, 2020 an article at CNBC proclaimed that the World Health Organization declares the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. As shown above via a table, in the 2018 Chapman Survey of American Fears six pandemic-related fears had higher percentages than the fear of public speaking.

What about earlier surveys? As shown above in a graph, from 2015 through 2018 a pandemic or a major epidemic also was feared by a higher percentage than public speaking was (and had a lower ranking). Back in 2014 a different more future-related question was asked – “How worried are you that a pandemic or a major epidemic could occur in the United Sates over the next 25 years?” But the 33.6% for worried fortuitously was very close to the 34.3% for feared in 2015.