“I am terrified of public speaking. Well, who isn’t, right? (If you aren’t let me know I want to know your tricks!)”

Everyone gets nervous from time to time, even professional speakers. Nervousness is a sign that the presentation matters to you. The trick is to harness that nervous energy.

You can learn to do this by committing yourself to continual speaking improvement. You can get an abundance of help from one of dozens of public speaking blogs, but the most important thing is regularly practicing your skills.

I don’t sound or look as scared as I thought.

It’s true. Most of the time, your audience will never know you are nervous, and they are pretty forgiving even when they can. They are most interested in your message, and less interested in your heart rate while delivering it.

A good way to verify this for yourself is to videotape yourself speaking (preferably while speaking in front of a group). Watching the video will confirm that your nervousness is not as bad as it may seem. Many other traits (good and bad) will also be evident.

Re: ask your peers for help

Absolutely! A great organization of peers who will give you an abundance of constructive feedback is Toastmasters. Consider joining a club near you.