Michael Cain in reply to Jaybird says:

Happens to almost everyone, at least the first time.

In hindsight, I got so lucky in my high-school English classes. When I was in ninth grade, due to an odd set of circumstances, my English class produced a play. We ended up doing multiple performances in the school’s really nice dedicated auditorium (built during the Depression with money from some program). Then in tenth grade, the class for the college prep track was speech. After those, I wasn’t ever afraid to be speaking in front of a crowd of people again.Report