[Lifebuoy]

Good stuff Black Mamba! I got back into teaching after acquiring SA disorder and having a longish period of unemployment. So I had to go right back to square one and try to re-establish my ability to talk in front of a lot of people. It's tough but it's possible.

I didn't read everything you wrote as it was so long.... so you might have covered this point. A really useful preparation before public speaking is to use 'positive affirmations'. Essentially it's a calming technique that that primes your sub-conscious mind. Before you get into the room, just talk to yourself: 'This is going to go well.... they are going to like me.... they are going to find what I say interesting... they really want me to succeed' etc. The weird thing is that you don't even have to believe what you are saying... it still has an incredibly bracing effect. I found it made the difference between being really scared and being reasonably at ease.

Of course you still need to do all the techniques and preparations you mentioned. But over time, doing a presentation becomes a lot easier as you become more confident, and you find that you need to prepare far less. But a quick recitation of positive affirmations is still worth resorting to if you feel apprehensive.