Alice,

I, too, have been very nervous in the past when speaking in front of groups of people. Even froze once. Very embarrassing. I used to act in a lot of plays years ago and when doing so would be performing in front of hundreds of people at times, but I never got nearly as nervous as I did when speaking in public. I got over that by pretending I was just acting in another role! 'Acting' on stage and 'speaking' in public are really two different things. When you pretend you're 'acting' instead of 'speaking', you'll feel more at ease and no one will know the difference. Give it a try. Just be sure you 'learn your lines!' Break a leg!