Accept one fact first: public-speaking anxiety (glossophobia) is extremely common — about 82% of people have it to some degree, and about 10% severely enough that it affects daily life. You surely know the pre-speech reactions: elevated heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, dry mouth, shaking hands, a 'churning' stomach, dilated pupils.

Two points must be settled first:

1. This is a normal stress response, not a sign you're not cut out for it — your body is mobilizing energy for an 'important occasion';
2. Public speaking is a trainable skill, and it gets less frightening as your experience grows.

So the right strategy is not to 'eliminate the nerves' (impossible, and unnecessary), but to manage them down to a non-issue — through preparation, practice, relaxation, and gradual exposure.

Two moves to steady your mind, both evidence-backed:

- Thorough preparation + out-loud rehearsal — this is the most effective and most humble move against stage fright and for stage presence. Organize your content, then actually say it aloud a few times (ideally timed, simulating the real setting, even recording yourself to review): this both lowers the anxiety of uncertainty and makes your delivery smoother. As practice and stage experience accumulate, speaking becomes progressively less anxiety-provoking (exposure / desensitization effect). Don't count on improvising your way out of trouble — rehearsal is the foundation of stage presence.
- Reframe 'I'm so nervous' as 'I'm so excited' — Brooks (2014) had people say aloud 'I am excited' before speaking / singing / a quiz, and they performed better and felt more confident than those who said 'I am calm.' The reason: anxiety and excitement are both high-arousal states; jumping from high arousal down to the low-arousal 'calm' is hard, whereas relabeling that same racing heart as excitement is far easier, and it steers your attention toward opportunity rather than threat.