Public Speaking Fear Survey Template

Two people preparing the same talk may want very different support. One may need to organize the opening; another may want a quiet rehearsal before trying an audience. Build this questionnaire in SurveyLegend to ask about the specific speaking situation before choosing an activity.

Use this version before an adult speaking workshop, coaching conversation, or voluntary practice session. Keep it separate from audience feedback and from any performance grade. The answers describe preparation needs, not a person's competence or a medical condition. Use open-ended questions to let speakers describe concerns that preset options do not cover.

Think about one upcoming speaking situation. All questions are optional. Share only what would help plan preparation; there is no score or diagnosis. Do not include medical history or private information about other people. You can discuss your preferences directly with the facilitator instead.

State who will read responses and whether the form is private or anonymous. Do not call it anonymous if individual answers are linked to a named coaching plan. SurveyLegend's article on anonymous feedback can help you consider that choice. Name the talk only if useful and avoid collecting medical details. Replace practice options with activities the facilitator can actually offer.

Send the questions early enough to agree on a practice plan rather than immediately before the person speaks. Let the participant decline the survey or any proposed activity. If you ask again later, use the same speaking context and describe changes as the person's report, not proof that a program worked.

Start with the chosen preparation focus and preferred first practice option. Agree one next step with the speaker instead of assigning an activity from the concern rating alone. Compare self-perception with specific, respectfully offered observations only when the speaker wants feedback. Do not total the responses into a fear score or use them to select presenters. Keep individual responses private from the wider group, and do not interpret a blank answer as no concern.

Savitsky and Gilovich's 2003 experiments examined the “illusion of transparency” in public speaking: speakers could overestimate how visible their nervousness was. Read the study . This supports keeping a speaker's concern separate from assumptions about what an audience noticed. The study did not validate this questionnaire, and its findings do not mean that every speaker's concern is mistaken or that a practice plan will reduce anxiety.

Copy the prompt into an AI assistant to prepare the questionnaire. Review the result, then build and customize it in SurveyLegend. The prompt does not automatically create or transfer a survey.