According to an article on the Training Journal website (http://www.trainingjournal.com/feature/three-steps-to-becoming-a-confident-speaker/), the New York Times carried out research among Americans about what they feared the most in life.

The fear of death came a mere third, with the fear of walking into a room full of strangers coming in at number two. The number one fear, among the Americans polled, was the fear of speaking in public.

Comment:  Could this possibly explain why Americans seem to prefer to shoot first and talk afterwards?