Study Curve

If you are very stage shy there is no soild way to get rid of your neverousness. Honestly. But it you have a good "stand point" on what your tlaking about than you can just be confident in yourself. Stage fear derives from the fear of rejection or failure. You just have to realize that no one is perfect, all people fail its a part of life. Really the people who are juding you are not any better than you. =)

I have a very hard time when I have to speak in front of groups. I always get very nervous and it is difficult for me. The most important thing is to breathe. I know that it sounds silly, but I end up holding my breath, which makes speaking very difficult. Practice what you want to say before hand, so you have the basic outline in your head. If you can use notes, note cards are helpful to remind you where your are going. As Juke said, you don't want to try to memorize it word for word, because if you forget, you will probably get more nervous and have a hard time finishing. The better you know your topic, the easier it is to talk about, too.

Juke has given you good advice. Practice is really important, knowing your subject matter sure helps with the comfort level too. I think the important thing to remember is that it is perfectly normal to feel nervous when you are giving a speech in front of others, I always tell myself, "Hey, in just a few minutes this will all be over and I won't have to worry about it any more!" Look just over the heads of your audience, but pause so it looks like you are making eye contact. Take a few deep breaths just before you begin and then just relax and go for it. If all else fails use the old trick of pretending that everyone in the audience is sitting in their underwear. Can you have a note card or two when you present? If so, put down the key ideas you will share during the presentation and keep your finger on the one you are speaking about at the time so you don't have to constantly look for your polace Don't panic if you make a mistake, just take another deep breath, and tell yourself you can do it and continue. It really does get easier every time you do it. I have confidence in you...YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Something I always did was practice the speech for my family (mainly my mom) over and over. Also remember that the more comfortable you are with the subject from either just liking it and/or practice the easier it is. Also keep in mind that you should know the main points of your speech, but don't memorize it line for line. If you try to memorize it exactly and then get nervous you will likely freeze and forget all of it. I think the best way to not get nervous is to know your topic and pretend you are just "telling your friends about it in a professional way. Does this make sense?
Also remember to breath.