The fear of public speaking

Why people are so afraid of public speaking? I think all EAP 3 students are concerned about this issue because of tomorrow’s Final Presentation. As for me, I would rather write an extra term paper than participate in this activity. When there is a possibility to improvise during my speech, I feel free because I don’t need to follow the text of my report. But if I have to repeat my report as a poem word for word in exact period of time, I become stressful. When I did our previous presentation I caught myself thinking about other things while I was speaking. I tried to concentrate on my topic, but I continued to speak like a robot and think about everything except the history of dreams. I hope my next presentation will be better. Of course, to feel confident it is necessary to be well prepared, no matter at what language you are speaking. However, I think there is a huge difference when you give a speech in a foreign language. If people are scared speaking to public in their native language, how much more should be scared people giving a speech in a foreign one! I thing the best method to overcome the fear of public speaking is to appear in this situation as frequently as possible. It is a useful skill to look in listener’s eyes while you are speaking, but if I try to do so, I lose all the thoughts that I had in my head. Practice, practice and practice will help us to become more confident during our public speaking. I wish everybody good luck tomorrow!