Public speaking anxiety is an extremely common fear (Furmark, 2000, p. 1335). Did you know that people are more afraid of speaking publicly than they are of death? Strange huh? Well, that is the truth for most people. I am hear to tell you that it it not a big deal and that you can control that fear. I have been teaching public speaking for about 10 years now and I must say it is not uncommon for students to dread giving presentations to the point where they might even be absent on the day pf presentations! But you know what the most rewarding part of my job is? To see my kids take a 360 degree turn by the end of the nine weeks in my class. YES! it is possible because I have witnessed it. Those scared faces that walk in my class on day one leave on day 45 as completely different kids with such confidence and happiness that they made through the nine weeks in Mrs. Yiakos's class just like she promised!
References
Furmark, T., (2000). Social phobia subtypes in the general population revealed by cluster
analysis. Psychological Medicine, 30(6):1335–1344.