Two more silly claims that 95% of the world population fears public speaking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I get extremely irritated when I read claims that almost everyone fears public speaking. At Facebook on June 1, 2026 there is a post from Manish Gupta which states that:

 

“Around 95% of the world’s population has the fear of Public Speaking. It also means that only 5% have the courage to stand up in front of a crowd. Do you want to join the 5% brigade? Do you want to be a part of the select few who walk around confidently with this skill? Do you want to master this one skill which can do wonders in your life? If yes, then do call us right away!”

 

Also, in a 2022 book by Peter J. Copeland titled How to Overcome Work Stress: An Office Survival Guide it is claimed that:

 

“In fact, statistics show that some degree of fear/nervousness in public speaking affects about 95% of all speakers.”

 

But those assertions are without any backing, just ipse dixits.

 

On December 1, 2024 I blogged about Does 95% of the population experience public speaking fear? And my answer was no. There are no surveys covering the whole world. And back on December 20, 2016 I blogged about Bursting the overblown claim that 95% of Americans fear public speaking at some level. On October 23, 2025 I posted on how In the eleventh Chapman Survey of American Fears for 2025, public speaking only was ranked #46 of 67 fears at 33.7%. Detailed results from that survey are:

 

Grand Sum for Very Afraid,

Afraid, and Slightly Afraid  68.5%

Sum for Very Afraid

and Afraid                             33.7% 

Very Afraid                            15.5%

Afraid                                     18.1%

Slightly Afraid                       34.9%   

Not Afraid                             31.4%

Web Blank (Don’t Know)      0.1%

 

That Grand Sum is more than 25% lower than the 95% Mr. Gupta claimed. According to the Wikipedia page on Demographics of the United States the 2025 estimated population is 341,784,857. 21.5% are under 18, so 78.5% are over, for an adult population of about 268,300,000 adults. 33.7% of that is about 90,417,000 people who significantly fear public speaking. Or, using the Grand Sum, about 68.5% or 183,790,000 people fear public speaking at some level. Those real numbers are more impressive statistics than overstated percentages.

 

My cartoon was created in PowerPoint from a globe and monkey at OpenClipArt.

 

 

A textbook chapter on avoiding plagiarism from a free e-book on public speaking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The freely downloadable 2018 fourth edition of the Exploring Public Speaking e-book has a Chapter 26 titled Avoiding Plagiarism. It discusses three types: stealing, sneaking, and borrowing. Stealing is wholesale, it involves taking the entire text.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sneaking involves shuffling the order of sentences. Borrowing is more subtle.

 

Images of a robber and shuffling cards came from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

My dad told me to use a banana to clean my shoes, and I can’t believe it worked. Now, how do I get these chimps to stop following me around?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I recently looked at Apple News on my iPhone I found an article by Pallavi Mehra at Apartment Therapy from June 4, 2026 with the clickbait title of My Dad Told Me to Use a Banana to Clean My Shoes, and I Can’t Believe It Worked.

 

What about side effects? That title should be followed by asking: How do I get these chimps to stop following me around?

 

The cartoon chimp and grass came from OpenClipArt.

 

What Is Selective Mutism?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are two articles in Toastmaster magazine that discuss an uncommon childhood anxiety disorder called selective mutism. One by Avery Matteo in the latest June 2026 issue on page 8 is titled How I Found My Voice. She said:

 

“Some of my earliest memories are shaped by my experiences with selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that makes speaking to unfamiliar people feel impossible. Public spaces were overwhelming, and even small interactions—such as asking a question to my teacher at school or expressing a need—felt out of reach.”

 

Another article by Jolene Stockman in the July 2019 issue on page 11 is titled Fitting In As An Autistic Speaker. Her third sentence said:

 

“We didn’t know it yet, but we were the founding members of Ngāmotu Breakfast Toastmasters, a club that would remain active 20 years later and took me from school kid with selective mutism to Distinguished Toastmaster and TEDx speaker.”

 

Wikipedia has an article on selective mutism, and there is a Selective Mutism Association with an article titled What is SM? There is a blog post by Anthony D. Smith at Psychology Today on March 7, 2026 titled What You Should Know About Selective Mutism. And the National Health Service [NHS] UK has a February 17, 2023 article on Selective Mutism beginning with the following description:

 

“Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder where a person is unable to speak in certain social situations, such as with classmates at school or to relatives they do not see very often.

It usually starts during childhood and, if left untreated, can persist into adulthood. A child or adult with selective mutism does not refuse or choose not to speak at certain times, they're literally unable to speak. 

The expectation to talk to certain people triggers a freeze response with feelings of anxiety and panic, and talking is impossible. In time, the person may learn to anticipate the situations that provoke this distressing reaction and do all they can to avoid them.

However, people with selective mutism are able to speak freely to certain people, such as close family and friends, when nobody else is around to trigger the freeze response. Selective mutism affects about 1 in 140 young children [~0.7 %]. It's more common in girls and children who have recently migrated from their country of birth.”

 Finally, there is a long article by Chaya Rodrigues-Pereira et al. in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry on December 1, 2021 (Volume 32, number 10, pages 1821 to 1839) titled Diagnosing selective mutism: a critical review of measures for clinical practice and research.

 

The ‘speak no evil’ monkey image was adapted from Wikimedia Commons.  

 

 

Strikingly Similar is a recent book by Roger Kreuz about plagiarism and intellectual appropriation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a detailed 2026 book by Roger Kreuz titled Strikingly Similar: Plagiarism and Appropriation from Chaucer to Chatbots. An article by Anthony Lane in The New Yorker on March 22, 2026 that reviews it is titled How Bad Is Plagiarism, Really?

 

Chapter 2 of the book is titled The Plagiarism Hunters and it begins with a section on page 29 titled Copyright Traps. I blogged about traps on November 30, 2025 in a post titled What the heck is a mountweazel?

  

On June 9, 2025 I blogged about Plagiarism and speechwriting. A section in Chapter 6 of the book starting on page 159 titled Dear Graduates discusses commencement speeches. One example on Page 160 starting at the second paragraph says:

 

“In 2005, for example, the principal of Springstead High School in Florida gave an inspiring address to her graduating class. However, her remarks consisted of a word-for-word recitation of the well-known ‘wear sunscreen’ essay written by Mary Schmich. Her advice was originally published in the Chicago Tribune in 1997 and has become widely available online. However, the principal chose to preface her remarks by stating that what followed were her personal thoughts. And at other points during her speech she used the phrase ‘my advice’ to reinforce the perception that the ideas were her own.

 

To make things worse, the principal wasn’t a first-time offender. In a commencement speech delivered the previous year, she appropriated from a collection of inspirational thoughts titled ‘All I need to Know I Learned from Noah’s Ark.’ Although the provenance of these sayings is murky, she left her audience under the impression that the ideas were her own.

 

In an apology for both episodes, the principal admitted to ‘unintentional errors.’ The school district put a letter of reprimand in her personnel file and gave her a one-day suspension, although it was with pay. A state inquiry in 2007 resulted in a $1,500 fine, although she was allowed to retain her state certifications as an educator.”

 

My image was modified from this Airwheel suitcase at Wikimedia Commons.

 

The 2025 commencement speaker at Smith College admitted plagiarizing her speech and then relinquished her honorary degree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smith College held its 147th commencement on May 18, 2025. An article by Darin Zullo at Boston.com on May 20, 2025 about it is titled Smith College commencement speaker returns honorary degree after plagiarizing her speech. It linked to a letter by Sarah Willie-LeBreton at Presidential Letters: Follow-Up to Commencement 2025 on May 20, 2025 which stated that:

 

“I must share with you, however, that it has come to our attention that one of our honorary degree recipients—musician Evelyn M. Harris—borrowed much of her speech to graduates and their families from the commencement speeches of others without the attribution typical of and central to the ideals of academic integrity. 

In conversations about this after the event, Ms. Harris was forthcoming about her choices while also acknowledging that she sought to infuse the words of others with her own emotional valence. With appreciation for the requirement of academic integrity so central to the values of Smith, Ms. Harris has chosen to relinquish her honorary degree.” 

This event also was discussed by Jonathan Bailey at Plagiarism Today on May 21, 2025 in another article titled Graduation Speaker Plagiarizes Speech, Returns Honorary Degree. He has a section about other incidents titled The Long, Sad History of Commencement Plagiarism.

 

 My cartoon used a scroll adapted from OpenClipArt.  

 

 

Does pushing that button really do anything?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an interesting article by Justin Pot at Popular Science on May 24, 2026 titled 3 buttons that don’t actually do anything. Pushbuttons that don’t do anything immediately would have been a better title. His examples are pedestrian crosswalk buttons, elevator door close buttons, and office wall thermostat buttons.

 

A pedestrian crosswalk button at an intersection, like the one shown above, might activate the cycle for a walk light. But during peak traffic hours it might not do anything, because the crosswalk light cycle is being automatically included.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elevator door close buttons don’t act immediately - because the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) calls for a time delay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And changing the temperature setting on an office wall thermostat may not have any effect at all. There is a Wikipedia article titled placebo buttons about that topic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But I have never seen a nonfunctional button marked like the one shown above.

 

The thermostat and elevator buttons were modified from images at Wikimedia Commons.