Overcome your Fear of Public Speaking!
Do you have 'good' nerves? Public speaking may not be comfortable, but in reality, it could be said that nerves are a good thing to have. Being in the middle of the stage on your own is not the best place for a personal comfort zone, but having your nerves in control will keep you awake and make sure that you don't get over-complacent. Imagine that's it's hard to feel complacent and confident when your heart is beating so hard that you think everyone in your audience might be able to hear it.
If channelled well, nerves can make the difference between your giving a mediocre presentation and giving one that keeps people attentive and interested. Get it into to your head that having nerves is part of the process of delivering your material in an apparent aura of confidence.
Tip: Get the Attention away from Yourself
It's tempting indeed to concentrate only on how you're feeling, especially if that feeling is one of being extremely uncomfortable. You'll start to feel every bead of perspiration forming.
In order to put your nerves to your advantage, you will need to concentrate on anything but yourself. Try distracting yourself by taking in the ambience and the environment in which you're speaking and seeing how you can make them work for you.
Once you're actually in front of your audience, pay careful attention to them. If you can, notice what people are wearing; who is wearing spectacles, who is sporting bright colours, who is twiddling their thumbs etc. There will be many things to which you can divert your attention to, in order to help you focus your mind into not noticing what's going on with you personally.
Any distraction will suffice and you will find that the less you concentrate on how your nervous system is suffering, and the more you concentrate on other irrelevant things, the more confident you will get as your monolgue progresses.
Building your Confidence in Public Speaking
The golden rule is that the audience is your best friend!
Unless you know you're definitely addressing a hostile gathering, human nature is such that your audience is gunning for you to succeed. Remember that they are your ally and not your enemy.
Although it sounds a little trite, a mirror at home is a good way to hone your physical and facial expressiveness -- your audience is not only listening to you, but observing your body language.