When you think about getting up in front of an audience to speak with, do you start to sweat? Many people don't realize it but public speaking is actually one of the most common phobias that people have. The problem with having this phobia is that it is difficult to hide whenever you are actually on the stage in front of your audience. This tends to compound the problem which, in turn, shows in the form of further nervousness on your part. Believe it or not, your nervousness about public speaking can be overcome with just a little bit of practice.

If this is your first time public speaking then perhaps you are nervous because you're not sure what to expect. That is a perfectly natural response to have but be careful not to allow it to run away with your emotions. Depending on your audience, you may actually know people in attendance and would not feel at all nervous speaking to them in a one on one situation. Whenever there is a group of them, however, and their attention is focused on you, you might feel as if they are going to pick apart everything you say. This is not typically the case.

If you are someone experienced at public speaking then perhaps your nervousness is not all that bad of an emotional response after all. A little bit of nervousness is healthy whenever you're getting up in front of an audience and can actually keep you on your toes. Try to turn those negative emotions into a positive experience for those that you're speaking to. You can do this in one of three different ways that I like to call the 3 P's of public speaking, preparation, persistence and perspiration.

The first P of public speaking is probably one of the most important, preparation. If you're going to be able to speak intelligently about anything in a public situation you need to be very familiar with it. Think about your favorite hobby or perhaps a sport that you really love. How difficult do you think it would be for you to speak about this in front of a group? The same would hold true for almost any subject. The more familiar you are with it, the easier it will be to speak about.

The persistence part comes in after the initial preparation is done. You need to hone your skills in public speaking and be persistent in your practicing so that you are confident whenever you finally take the stage. Yes, you will be nervous to a certain extent but the more persistence you have in your preparation, the smoother you will appear to be. Finally, the perspiration part of your talk comes whenever you are actually giving your presentation. Just sweat it out and do your best and get it done in the best way possible.

Although it may be difficult for you to speak in front of a group, you certainly can overcome your fears to a certain extent with a little bit of practice. Just make sure that you take the time in advance to prepare yourself and you will be more confident with what you have to say. That confidence will show through on the stage and you will be able to feed off of your audiences response.