More than a quarter of people in the UK are less confident public speaking since the pandemic, new research has revealed.
The Survation poll of 2000 people showed 26.2 per cent were either much or slightly less confident “speaking in front of people” since lockdown restrictions lifted.
Women were significantly more likely to have lost confidence (30 per cent) then men (22.2 per cent).
And those aged 18 to 44 were the worst-affected, with around 40 per cent in that age group saying they were less comfortable addressing a room of people.
The study was commissioned by Speak With Impact, a public speaking and presentation coaching firm.
Its director Gavin Brown said professionals were struggling to regain their confidence face-to-face now that workers were returning to the office.
The poll, carried out between May 26 and 31, also exposed regional variations.
Londoners were the most likely to have lost confidence (33.6 per cent) while Scots suffered the least impact (20.1 per cent).
And while confidence loss in public speaking was high among those under 44, just nine per cent of over 65s said they’d lost confidence.
Respondents went into some detail with why they had lost confidence, including the following remarks:
“I feel less confident in general after the pandemic, probably due to being at home and seeing less people.”
“I developed anxiety during the pandemic.”
“I feel my confidence is lower and I’m more aware of being criticised.”
“Things are a lot different now – my confidence has taken a massive knock.”
“I feel people are more hostile these days.”
Gavin Brown, director of Speak With Impact, said:
“This research shows a significant number of people in the UK have lost confidence in their ability to speak publicly since the pandemic.
“This seems to be particularly true of people who are starting out their careers or trying to move up the career ladder, from the age of 18 right up to 44.
“Given many people were afraid of presenting and speaking publicly before the pandemic, it’s obvious we need to work even harder to help those who have lost their confidence.
“This is an issue that will not fix itself – it’s important that businesses and organisations help their staff at all levels overcome these problems for the sake of their own development and the wider economy.”
