I coach Speech and Debate, so it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. My students don’t mind it either, after a while. It is a skill you can learn.
I do like it if I’m prepared. A few years ago my SO was best man to his brother and he had to give the speech. I took it as no big deal, but I found it later he was petrified at having to, he was just very good at not showing it. I totally didn’t and don’t understand it to this day. His family is very kind and very forgiving. And it’s an emotional time! He did wonderfully.
I haven’t had that feeling of fright since I was a child…I danced on stage for many many years and used to be I’d go to a party and people would just ask me to perform. I never had any problem with the spotlight on me, so it just extended to public speaking.
That’s trouble too. My jokes are usually so deadpan and snuck in there (and sometimes geeky) that first people wonder if I am joking and then by the time they figure it out I’ve sheepishly moved on and it’s too late to laugh. I refuse to point out jokes in some obvious way, though.
I hate it. I used to hear that if you got nervous, you should imagine the audience sitting in their underwear. So I tried it. After imagining 100 engineers in their underwear, I was more nauseous than nervous.
It is my biggest fear. I loathe it.
I am better now with it than I was as a young woman.
The very first time I had to speak before a crowd as a part of my job, I was so upset that my menstrual period stopped. (It started back a couple days later.)
Since then I’ve done it here and there and muddled through okay.
I spoke at the bar mitzvahs of my sons, and did well.
Too nervous to cry! 
Jokes are dangerous. I think “jokes” are deadly - first, they use time you need, and second a lot of people might have heard them already. Jokes that work are new, related to your talk, and make a point.
It helps to have tried out the joke before, in smaller rehearsals of a presentation. It gives you confidence, if nothing else.
When I was in high school, I would have plotzed if I ever had to give a speech in front of people. Later, I did a few years in Toastmasters, and I learned how. Now, I can run a meeting with no sweat. If I have to, I can give a convincing speech. Last year, I performed a wedding. I am still plagued, though, with the question, “What makes my opinion better than anyone else’s?” I don’t thrive on the spotlight.
I have been in a few officer spots, and I didn’t like it. Running the meetings was okay, but the paperwork was a pain.
I just found out today that due to my boss’ absence, I will be responsible for giving a presentation during our company’s quarterly meeting. So, the day after tomorrow I get to stand up in front of all 175+ employees and present an update on what our area is doing. Surprisingly, I’m not that nervous about it.
I will admit, this is one of my bugaboos too. I don’t mind making calls to friends and colleagues–people I already know, in other words–but picking up the phone to call a business or organization for information or something–argh! I hate it.
This phobia, by the way, causes my wife no end of laughs. I also did radio many years ago, and she is fond of reminding me, “You could speak through a microphone to thousands of people you couldn’t see and didn’t know, and you have problems speaking to one person through a telephone? Yeesh!”
Um…thanks, honey. 
Shhh!
I actually enjoy it now. I speak at my surgeon’s pre-op seminars re: gastric bypass surgery. I’ve also spoken at high schools about it. I was almost suicidal the first time, but once I got into it, I really started to enjoy it.
VCNJ~
I love it and have been told that I’m very good at it. People often request me as their speaker when they have a choice. I’m just an attention-loving ham!
I used to hate it. For several days before a presentation, I’d lose my appetite and ability to sleep. During the presentations, my voice would go all Ethel Merman quivery, my palms would sweat, and my knees would shake. I’d try everything I could to get out of public speaking.
Then I started a job that required a lot of presentations. I liked the rest of the job, so I sucked it up and forced myself to get through them. I was certain I was going to have a heart attack from fear each and every time. But (surprisingly to me) I survived them all.
Then, one day, I realized I wasn’t dreading an upcoming presentation. In fact, I was actually looking forward to it. I was sure the nerves would come, but they didn’t. I thought they’d hit once I started speaking, but I realized I was actually having a lot of fun.
It seemed to happen suddenly. Looking back, however, it was actually a very process to go from hating it to loving it. It just seemed sudden since the change was so subtle and slow.
I’m glad I learned to love it. It’s a great skill to have. Of course, I prefer to be prepared, but I’ve been asked to speak with very little notice (presenters that didn’t show up, etc.) anddone well in those situations. I probably couldn’t speak to something I know absolutely nothing about, but so long as I have a good baseline of knowlege on the topic, I can do all right.
Thanks for that…there may be hope for me yet! I know I would do what I need to on the job but it’s good to know it might get easier. One woman did back out of presenting because she didn’t feel comfortable with the subject matter and it became a bad situation there for a while.
I like the mike if it is a spontaneous thing. If it is something that needs preparation, then no.
If I’m required to speak in front of a group in my professional capacity - no problem. I can speak in front of colleagues and other professional organizations and do so with a great deal of confidence. Prepared speeches, Q&A, demonstrations. I know of what I speak and I enjoy the experience.
However - I tank when it comes to speaking outside my comfort zone. I had to make a toast at our company Christmas party. I didn’t think twice about it. I didn’t really prepare anything figuring I would wing it. Big mistake. I got about two sentences into it and my voice started to shake, I was sweating and pale. Same thing when I was speaking as best man at a wedding last year.
Next time I have to speak at a non employment function, the crowd will just have to listen to a quarterly report.
Love it! Probably wouldn’t have been a semipro magician if I wasn’t a ham.