Despite often being the outward face of their company, a new survey has found that the majority of business leaders fear public speaking.
The survey, conducted by executive communications consultancy The Aziz Corporation, found that many UK bosses rate public speaking as the most challenging aspect of their job.
The research found that 71% of business leaders would be nervous about addressing a large conference, whereas 80% would fear a television interview.
Professor Khalid Aziz, chairman of The Aziz Corporation, commented: “Business leaders are, by their definition, successful people.
“Considering that they are also the public face of their company, and that a major speech or TV interview can make or break their reputation, it is worrying that so many of them fear communication.”
The biggest concerns cited by executives were those of boring the audience, worrying that they would lose their train of thought or that they would not be able to offer intelligent answers to questions.
“Executives often rise through the ranks as a result of technical expertise and so can find themselves misplaced to deal with communications issues, preferring the more behind-the-scenes number crunching, to the fame of a public persona,” added Aziz.
Furthermore, the research also found that a staggering 69% of an audience will consider whether or not they are attracted to a speaker during a presentation.
However, Aziz assured business leaders that this should not be added cause for concern.
“There are reasons why some speakers are more engaging and charismatic than others, and indeed appearance feeds into this. But enthusiasm for a subject is in itself attractive and can also be infectious.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
