Why do I shake when talking in front of a crowd?

This is something you are not alone on. Speaking in front of a crowd can be really nerve racking for a lot of people. If this is going on with small groups of people or among friends, it may be social anxiety, which you can get support for. I think it is completely natural for most people to get scared, anxious, or even shake in front of a crowd. I personally have had a hard time with this and it is something I have difficulty with to this day. It does get better with time and just know that most people you are talking in front of probably understand the anxiety and will not judge.

I have severe fear of public speaking and as a future social worker I find that it holds me back from progressing in my career. I won an award at school in 5th grade and on graduation day I was called to the front of the auditorium to accept my award but what they didn’t tell me was that I was going to have to read it in front of everyone and I was so scared. I started sweating profusely, my heart was pounding, I was lightheaded, my mouth got dry, and my vision began to blur so I shuddered through the speech because I could barely see the words and for some reason that stuck with me. For me I get nervous because I don’t want to sound stupid or stutter. Practice reading ahead of time which helps a little and don’t drink coffee before your speech. I find that it makes it worse.