I&#x27;m the opposite, I went through a period of about 15 years performing as DJ [1], I&#x27;ve performed in front of anything from 100 to several thousand people and not had a problem, but public speaking overwhelms me with anxiety - sometimes with as little as 4 or 5 people (if I see them as &#x27;better&#x27; than me - I work in healthcare software, so deal with clinicians a lot).<p>It&#x27;s totally frustrating because in every other aspect of my life I&#x27;m a very confident and positive, don&#x27;t suffer from any anxieties, and am very much in control.  I have little tolerance of <i>can&#x27;t</i>, that is, I usually don&#x27;t let fear of trying or other&#x27;s lack of ambition stifle me.  So to have something totally irrational take control over me, like it does, is bizarre.<p>I&#x27;d genuinely love to fix it at some point, but I&#x27;m in those situations infrequently, so I&#x27;m not convinced I&#x27;d be able to really nail it.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;soundcloud.com&#x2F;paullouth" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;soundcloud.com&#x2F;paullouth</a>