Second only to fear of snakes in a Gallup poll was something definitely less life threatening: public speaking.
While still high, the fear of public speaking has gone down by 5 percent in the past 10 years. Gayle Houser, instructor of communication studies, asked her class Thursday for the reasoning behind this change.
"They think, and I agree with them, that with social networking and YouTube, people seem to have less fear, they forget that those are public speaking forums in many ways," Houser said. "I still think that giving a formal presentation probably is right up there [in terms of fear]. I think the definition of public speaking is changing because of emerging technology."
The concept of fearing public speaking is baffling in many ways. The reasoning behind this predicament isn't a simple answer.
"[One reason people fear public speaking is] everybody is looking at you. You know that's our greatest nightmare. We want attention, but it's like ‘The Wizard of Oz': ‘Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain,'" Houser said. "We want people to hear us, but we don't want them to see us.
"Oz wanted all the power and wanted people to listen, but he didn't want people to see him and I think in a way we're the same way. It's ‘hear my voice, but don't look at me while I'm talking.' [They're] self-conscious of ‘Will people agree with me? Will I forget and look foolish? Will I say something wrong and offend people?' We worry about that."
While there is the worry of being judged, Nicole Johnson, assistant director of debate, said she thinks people fear public speaking because they fear the unknown.
"If you've never done something before, you're going to experience some anxiety before the first time you do it," Johnson said.
Both Houser and Johnson agreed that over the course of the semester most students grow more comfortable with giving speeches.
The nerves of public speaking are obnoxious and sickening.
Every time I've given presentations or read my poetry at readings, the fear would creep up and that rude lump would quiver in my throat. I overcame my fear of public speaking when I was a theater major and was in a Cave Theatre production. I was anxious about forgetting my lines and worried what the audience would think of me.
After many rehearsals and plenty of practice with my scene partner and on my own, the words just came out during the performance. With practice and preparation, the nerves slip away once you realize you know what you are doing. It's just finding the courage to actually do it that's difficult.
Everything always seems like it's life or death when it's happening, but then years pass and none of those people remember mistakes like you think they will.
"When we realize how insignificant it is, it is not such a big deal," Houser said. "Why did I make myself sick over that? It's because we're egocentric and we want to make sure people like us.
"If you don't die in one class, you won't die in the next."
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