A flawed article by Dr. Cheryl Mathews on what public speaking anxiety statistics say

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a flawed article by Dr. Cheryl Mathews at SpeakCalmHQ on September 10, 2025 that is titled The Biggest Myth About The Top Fear: What Public Speaking Anxiety Statistics Really Reveal. She discusses the 2024 Chapman Survey of American Fears to point out that public speaking is not the number one fear. But Cheryl also creates a couple new myths. Her six takeaways are:

 

1] Public speaking is not the top fear Among Americans despite popular myths.

2] The real number one fear for most people is corrupt government officials.

3] Only a minority – about 29% - experience strong anxiety about public speaking.

4] Most people’s public speaking anxiety is mild and manageable.

5] Severe speaking anxiety can hurt careers and quality of life, but there’s help out there.

6] Accurate, recent public speaking anxiety statistics come from Chapman University surveys.

 

She says other highlights are:

 

Corrupt government officials. Over 65% of Americans are very afraid or afraid.

Death. Number two in the fear rankings.

Public speaking anxiety. Number 59 out of a long list, with only about one quarter of Americans affected by significant speech anxiety.  

 

If you look at the 2024 Chapman fears list for Very Afraid plus Afraid, you will not find Death listed at #2, or at all. That #2 is from the Jerry Seinfeld joke. Dying is listed as #51 at 31.6%. People I Love Becoming Seriously Ill is #2 at 58.4%. And People I Love Dying is #4 at 57.8%. On October 24, 2024 I had blogged about how In the tenth Chapman Survey of American Fears for 2024, public speaking only was ranked #59 of 85 fears at 29.0%.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Mathews has a section titled Breaking Down Public Speaking Anxiety: Three Main Groups that begins with a pie chart for public speaking fear that I’ve instead shown above as a bar chart. Her Group 1 is Not Afraid or only Slightly Afraid (71%). Her Group 2 is Afraid or Very Afraid (29%). Group 3 is Very Afraid (Phobic, 12%). But Phobic is not quite the same as Very Afraid! Back on December 8, 2019 I blogged about how a Toastmasters press release confuses a fear of public speaking with a phobia. In that post I pointed out that along with being intense a phobia is also persistent and interfering.

 

Cheryl’s fourth takeaway is that most people’s public speaking anxiety is mild and manageable. I have discussed that another way, via a fear score, in a blog post on June 1, 2025 titled An article on stage fright by David Pennington claimed public speaking was the #1 fear in a Chapman Survey, but ignored their nine other surveys where it was ranked from #26 to #59. On a scale from 1 to 4, the Fear Score for public speaking was always around 2 – just Slightly Afraid. The first sentence of Cheryl’s article asked: “What scares Americans the most?” What she discussed instead was What do the most Americans fear?

 

Near the end Cheryl has a brief section titled What About the Global Population? which states:

 

“We don’t have a lot of data globally. However, we can assume from these global anxiety surveys that the percentages above generally reflect patterns in other countries and across the global population.”

 

The 2024 Chapman survey found 29.1% of Americans feared public speaking. But back on August 15, 2012 I blogged about how Surveys show that public speaking isn’t feared by the majority of adults in nine developed and eleven developing countries. Only 13% in nine developed countries feared public speaking/performance. And just 9.4% in eleven developing countries feared public speaking/performance. That 13% is less than half, and 9.4% is only a third of what the Chapman survey found.  

 

The grim reaper cartoon was adapted from this one at OpenClipArt.

 

 

Surrounded by bad books from Thomas Erikson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back on February 4, 2020 I blogged about how The Toastmasters Pathways Level 2 project on Understanding Your Communication Style says there are four communication styles. Where did they come from? In that post I discussed the DISC model from William Moulton Marston (Dominance – Influence – Steadiness – Compliance). I mentioned that a popular Swedish book from 2018 by Thomas Erikson, titled Surrounded by Idiots had restated those four categories as colors. Now there is a new 2025, fully revised and expanded edition of that book – Surrounded by Idiots: The four types of human behavior and how to effectively communicate with each in business (and in life). There is a preview at Google Books. He very briefly mentions the DISC model. But finally on pages 333 to 335 there is a short reflection on its history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On page 37 of the book (and a color version at the inside front cover) there is a four-column table with Different Characteristics per Color, as shown above. The second row has wording for DISC, but there is no explanatory column at the left. Then, on pages 38 to 40, there is another excruciatingly long table listing Characteristic Traits with thirty rows that does include an explanatory column.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And on page 100 there is a 2x2 table (as shown above) with those four types. [He didn’t show the words for DISC, but I have added them].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, in Chapter 22 beginning on page 251 Thomas discussed The Most Common Combinations of two colors, as I have shown above in another table.

 

The book jacket claims that:

 

“Thomas Erikson is a Swedish behaviorist and the bestselling author of the Surrounded By books, a series about human behavior and communication. The series, including Surrounded by Idiots, has sold more than ten million copies in 70 languages.”  

 

A half-dozen other books in the series are (in chronological order):

 

2020

Surrounded by Psychopaths: How to protect yourself from being manipulated and exploited inbusiness (and in life)

 

2021

Surrounded by Bad Bosses (and Lazy Employees): How to stop struggling, start succeeding,and deal with idiots at work

 

2021

Surrounded by Setbacks: Turning obstacles into success (when everything goes to hell)

 

2022

Surrounded by Narcissists: How to effectively recognize, avoid, and defend yourselfagainst toxic people (and not lose your mind)

 

2023

Surrounded by Energy Vampires: How to slay the time, joy, and soul suckers in your life

 

2024

Surrounded by Liars: How to stop half-truths, deception, and gaslighting from ruining yourlife

 

A post at Reddit pointedly asked Has it occurred to Thomas that he might be the problem?

 

Thomas did not bother to add information from his other books to his latest revised one about Idiots. I found at the public library and skimmed all his others except the Energy Vampires one. Here are excerpts from some of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page 54 of the Psychopaths book has a better 2x2 table (as shown above) with those four DISC types.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And pages 78 and 79 of his Setbacks book has a better table with a description of the four colors (as shown above). Thomas did not bother to repeat those two improved graphics in the revised Idiots book.   

 

Similarly, there is a better Description of DISC on pages 82 and 83 of Surrounded by Psychopaths:

 

“The DISC Model

 

Not everything in an individual’s behavior can be explained by the DISC model.

 

There are other models that explain behavior, but I use this as the basis because it is simple to digest and teach. There are more parts of the puzzle than the colors to map various behavior patterns.

 

The DISC model is based on thorough studies and is used throughout the world. It has been translated into more than fifty different languages.

 

Historically, there are similar views in different cultures – for example the four humors described by Hippocrates, who lived in Greece about 2,500 years ago.

 

About 80 percent of all people have a combination of two colors that dominate their behavior. Approximately 5 percent have only one color that dominates behavior. The others [15 percent] are dominated by three colors.

 

Entirely Green behavior, or Green in combination with one other color, is the most common. The least common is entirely Red behavior, or Red in combination with one other color.

 

There may be differences between the sexes, but I do not deal with the gender perspective in this book.

 

The DISC model does not work for analysing people with ADHD, Asperger’s borderline personality disorder, or other disorders.

 

There are always exceptions to what I claim in this book. People are complex – even Red people can be humble, and Yellows can listen attentively. There are Green people who deal with conflict because they have learned what to do, and many Blues understand when it’s time to stop fact-checking. Problems in communication arise when people lack self-awareness.

 

My own colors are Red and Blue and a bit of Yellow. No Green to speak of. Sorry.”

 

An article edited by Lotten Kalenius from the Swedish Skeptics Association (VoF) on April 15, 2024 is titled One of Sweden’s biggest scientific bluffs which discusses the book and Thomas Erikson. It has a section titled Is Erikson an authority in behavioural science? When he was looked up:  

 

“So, we used Ladok, the register of everyone who has studied at Swedish colleges and university, to see if we could find the courses taken by Erikson. There was no-one with his name and birthdate registered. In fact, Erikson’s professional background is in sales, first for the bank Nordea and then running his own business training salespeople. It is most likely that his only educational background is, at best, the Swedish equivalent of a high school diploma.”   

 

Lotten noted that Erikson was named Fraudster of the Year in 2018 by VoF and also added:

 

“He has as much right as my poodle to call himself a behavioural scientist.”

 

Erikson is quite glib as illustrated in a 12-minute YouTube video titled Red behavioural profile DISC | Dominant people | Surrounded by Idiots. But what he mostly says is Ipse Dixit – dogmatic expressions of opinion asserted without proof. I will ignore all of it. Think carefully before you accept any of it.

 

A jester statue was adapted from one at Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

How the busiest people find joy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a thoughtful article by Leslie A. Perlow, Sari Mentser, and Salvatore J. Affinito in the July-August 2025 issue of the Harvard Business Review on pages 135 to 139 titled How the Busiest People Find Joy: Five research backed strategies. You can download it here as a 15-page pdf. Those strategies are to:

 

1) Engage with others

2) Avoid passive pursuits

3) Follow your passion

4) Diversify your activities

5)Protect the time

 

Under 1) they say:

 

“According to the research behind the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which tracked hundreds of men for more than 75 years, the most powerful predictor of life satisfaction is strong, meaningful relationships with accepting, supportive people. Whether it’s the comfort of family bonds or the camaraderie of friendships, these connections anchor people and provide a sense of belonging.”

 

A clapping woman was adapted from this cartoon at OpenClipArt.

 

About a fifth of American adults with a very high fear of public speaking may not benefit from Toastmasters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People commonly advise those with a fear of public speaking to join a Toastmasters International club in order to get over it. But those with a very high level of fear (a severe anxiety level) might not benefit, and will drop out quickly.

 

There is an excellent 14-minute YouTube video by Dr. Cheryl Mathews at SpeakCalmHQ on November 25, 2024 titled DO NOT Go To Toastmasters If This Applies To You. She says you instead will need gradual desensitization exercises.

 

And she suggests you take a public speaking anxiety test first. Back on December 5, 2009 I blogged about it in a post titled Do you have a high level of anxiety about public speaking?

 

The 2024 Chapman Survey of American Fears looked at four levels of fear for public speaking. 11.9% were Very Afraid, 17.2% were Afraid, 36.6% were Slightly Afraid, and 34.3% were Not Afraid. The fraction who are very afraid is 11.9/65.7 = 0.181 or less than one in five. This fraction is as follows for all ten surveys, based on data in my June 1, 2025 blog post:

 

2014     0.142

2015     0.190

2016     0.151

2017     0.171

2018     0.180

2019     0.200

2020/1  0.186

2022     0.202

2023     0.160

2024     0.181  

Mean    0.176

 

The cartoon of a scared man was adapted from this one at OpenClipArt.

 

 

Boil your strategy down to just one clear visualization

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the July-August 2025 issue of the Harvard Business Review, on pages 98 to 107, I found a useful ten-page article by Joao Cotter Salvado and Freek Vermeulen titled You Should Be Able to Boil Your Strategy Down to a Single Clear Visualization. It is referenced here, and an excellent graphic from it is shown here. The description for that graphic says that:

 

“Our research into the best way to communicate strategies reveals five key design principles, which can be seen in this visualization about the bank Capitec. It clearly illustrates the bank’s plan to build a network of accessible, user-friendly branches to deliver a value proposition of banking services that are simple, unintimidating, and affordable for low-income customers opening their first bank accounts.

 

1]  Group your ideas into three or four main concepts that form the base of your model.

 

2]  Within those concepts, add layers of detail that describe their concrete implications and how to implement the strategy.

 

3]  Use color and shading, but judiciously – only to distinguish layers.

 

4]  Indicate clear relationships among the elements – for instance, with connecting lines and arrows that delineate flows.  

 

5]  Make your framework easier for viewers to process by organizing it horizontally.

 

To read the full article you can look at the Business Source Premier database in EBSCOhost over at your friendly local public library. But you can also find a slightly different version in another article with the same title from June 24, 2025 by Joao Cotter Salvado.