The effects of speaker personality on anticipated reactions to public speaking

The present study considers the correlations between speaker personality traits, represented in the Five Factor Model, and reactions to audiences that have been associated with public speaking anxiety. Ninety‐five university students evaluated six different speaking situations and provided ratings of public speaking anxiety, willingness to speak, fear of negative opinion, expected evaluation, and audience agreeableness. Results showed that the global traits of extroversion, emotional stability and intellect were significantly correlated with public speaking anxiety and related cognitive and affective reactions to the prospect of public speaking. It is argued that the observed pattern of relations helps to perpetuate public speaking anxiety in a “self‐fulfilling prophesy.”