I like everyone is saying practice, practice, practice! Another thing that helped me with speaking in front of large groups was once I practice and felt that I knew my speech exactly. I would gather all my friends family, basically as many people as I could get. It is impotent to have both of people you do not know and people you know. That way when you present our speech you will get the same nervous feeling and see where you will make mistakes and practice more on those parts. Good luck and just remember that you can get over this fear over time but you have to keep doing it.
I joined a Toastmasters group and had a ball and met new people. It helped me to be able to become a college professor.
The Toastmasters will help you when you first start and won't be too critical because they will realize you are new. The first times getting up are pretty easy because all you do is talk about yourself for a minute or two.
It sure helps.
I've heard good things about the above. I have a similar anxiety myself, but I am no longer in a job where I am required to do it. I can speak to a group of 6 or 7 people in a professional atmosphere with no problem whatsoever. Any larger than that and there's anxiety. No amount of preparation, etc will get past it the anxieties. I've heard toastmasters is the way to beat what I just described. Highly recommended from anyone I've ever run into that is a member.
