A bogus 77% fear statistic in a book by an organization that should have known better

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 9, 2017 I blogged about how It must be true, since I read it in a book. Recently I looked on Google Books and found one from 2021 titled Speak! Overcoming the Fear and Horror of Public Speaking authored by Dale Carnegie & Associates. The introduction has a claim that:

 

“Research shows that as much as 77% of people around the world have some level of fear when it comes to speaking in front of others.”

 

On October 12, 2020 I had blogged about Do 77% of Americans fear public speaking? No! That percentage described stage fright in Swedes who also had social anxiety disorder. The 77% was about a much narrower group than the world.

 

On Google Books I also found Suly Rieman’s 2023 book # No Fear: A guide to overcoming fear in our daily lives which has an even vaguer version:

 

“The fear of public speaking is so common that some researchers have estimated that as much as 77% of people have some level of this fear.”