"...I'd be a better public speaker! " I used to be comfortable speaking in front of large groups. I gave a speech in front of hundreds of people at my high school graduation without a problem. In college, I gave speeches and presentations all the time...but somehow I have devolved. I now get the dreaded shaky voice with troubling regularity when I stand up to speak to a group. It happened today when I had to give a presentation for class. Cognitively, it didn't take any effort for me to convince myself that this presentation was a completely innocuous activity. There was nothing threatening about the class session: I knew the subject matter, I had prepared well, and I knew the class to be a friendly group...but once I started talking, my adrenal glands took over. When I sat down afterwards, my brain regained control and I began thinking about how lame I am to have such a ridiculous fear response to a something so basic as talking. The problem with fear is that...