Standing up in front of a group of people and giving a speech is not an easy thing to do for any of us. As we stand there with everyone's eyes on us, it can be very easy to become overwhelmed with nerves and fear. However, if we are going to be successful public speakers, then we need to learn to deal with our fears.

Fear and public speaking seem to go hand in hand. As we prepare to take the stage, it's all too common that we'll suddenly get an attack of nerves. We fear that once we start our speech, we're going to make a mistake or say something wrong. Stage fright can take over.

What we need to understand is that the people who are really good public speakers were once in our position. However, they moved forward. No, they were not always perfect - they stumbled just like we do. However, they learned from their mistakes and they become better over time. No matter what causes you to become afraid or shy, you can identify it and then you can overcome it.

In order to master our fears, we need to be able to take a step back. We need to look at ourselves and understand how our audience is viewing us. It's only by doing this that we'll be able to become better speakers.

We also have to remember that if we can master our fears and actually deliver a great speech, our job is not over when we are done speaking. In fact, our interaction with our audience may just be beginning at this point in time.