ABSTRACT
A nationwide survey revealed that the primary fear of Americans is the fear of giving a public speech.! Even the fe ar of death came in a poor third! In his extensive work at Stanford University, Zimbardo found that three out of every four college students, like other Americans, have a very great fear of public speaking.2 My own research, involving over fifty thousand college students and other adults in various parts of the United States, strongly supports Zimbardo's findings. Stage fright-the fear of speaking in public-is experienced by an overwhelming majority of people in this society.
