A few weeks ago, right before my first in-person speaking event in MONTHS, I realized my hands were shaking. I was so nervous that I was worried my voice would shake, too.
As I entered the room where I was going to be speaking, I thanked my lucky stars that I was going to be at least six feet away from everyone, and that no one would want to shake my hand, because then they'd know I was scared stiff.
I've been a public speaker since I was 14 years old, when I competed in high school speech tournaments, giving multiple extemporaneous speeches every single weekend. Since then, my career has typically always involved some sort of public speaking, and, frankly, I love it.
But that doesn't mean that I don't get nervous. There are times when, at the beginning of a speech, my hands will be shaking so much that I don't trust myself to drink out of a bottle of water, for fear of giving myself a shower.
Eventually, the nerves work themselves out and I get into the flow of things. But man, those first few minutes are ALWAYS rough.
So, if you get nervous at the thought of speaking in front of a group of people, know that you aren't alone. Even someone like me, who loves public speaking and has 26 years of experience doing it, can get jittery.