Apprehensions in Public Speaking!!!

Scene: Richmond, VA in Autumn 1989, High School Production of Arsenic and Old Lace,
Act 2. The curtain went up. I stood there center stage, alone & ready.
We were half way through our run of this play. I had been in several shows and always enjoyed being on stage. Until now...
The lights were in my eyes, then I started to make out the shapes and faces of the audience in the packed auditorium. The usual rush of adrenaline turned strangely to fear. In that brief moment before speaking, as I looked out on all of those smiling & expectant faces...time froze.  And whilst time stood still, my mind raced...Did I really have what it took to entertain the masses? What if I forgot my lines and ruined the play? Who was I to be in this role? The doubts flew through my consciousness and the anxiety mounted.

Suddenly and most unexpectedly, Stage Fright had its tight, icy grip around my throat! Time unfroze and the world began to spin once more on its axis...but now the room was spinning and I was frozen! My knees began to knock so loudly that it must have been heard in the first five rows. I thought I might faint, vomit or cry. With white knuckles and a deep breath, I stuttered out the first couple of lines. With every ounce of effort that I could muster, my composure was regained. All was well. I remembered my lines, people laughed at the right times, we had a successful run. 
However, that experience was so all-encompassing & terrifying that I dropped out of the next play, that was already being rehearsed. I never fully understood the hows and whys of my experience that night, but since then, have avoided public speaking at all costs!

Yet in the past five or six years, I have been a part of a great group of friends who just love any opportunity to 'circle up' and share their thoughts, feelings, and musings. I always enjoyed listening, but have occasionally been 'encouraged' (more like forced) to speak up. Gulp! But with this practice and using many of the techniques described in Chapter 2, I have felt less anxiety and accomplished enough. 
Some of the techniques that I have been effective for me are: diaphragmatic breathing, visualizing a well presented speech, quieting the mind enough to focus on the task at hand, relabeling my anxiety as excitement for entertaining or informing the audience, going in as prepared as possible, knowing the audience and speaking to them conversationally, and relaxing into as best as I can.
I look forward to this semester's practice of extemporaneous and conversational public speaking. But why no podium, Prof. Carol?