TALK ON PUBLIC SPEAKING

I was invited to give a talk on "Public Speaking" at PKG Sitiawan this morning.  This is part of the NILAM Reading Camp to prepare student representatives from the district who would be taking part in the state level NILAM Reading Programme Competition.  The participants were 7 pupils from the primary schools and 7 from the secondary schools in Manjung.  They were representatives from the different PKGS (Teacher Activity Centres in the Manjung District).
Someone once mentioned that Public Speaking is the thing people fear most.  Even more than snakes and death.  Some of the reasons given are fear of being embarrassed, fear of failure while giving a speech in front of people, fear of being judged, fear of ones physical appearance not being appealing to others and fear of being compared with others.
Luckily for me, she does not have a phobia about speaking in public.  I do get a bit nervous before I start but after that I can go on and on, especially if I am giving a talk about one of my pet subjects.
What about you? Are you afraid of giving a speech in public?