Public speaking is tough

You don't have to mix them. In the past I have used alcohol alone to help with public speaking.

It doesn't take much for me, 1-1.5 beers is all it takes to stop the jitters if I have an under-prepared presentation to give. Not enough to even call tipsy (best to avoid that, for obvious reasons).

Yeah, I don't need much help with public speaking anymore.

But, for many years, after one bad experience, I just couldn't shake the jitters. I needed a way to break the vicious cycle of one bad experience leading to more bad experiences. I needed a shim to break the cycle.

Now, like you, I actually look forward to the pre-talk adrenalin hit.

As an introvert, I have no problem talking in front of a large group. I thrive on one-on-one conversations where each person has an opportunity to talk thru long complex interesting thoughts without interruption. Speaking in front of a large group is exactly that: I get to talk at length on a favorite topic, at whatever level of detail I choose, to someone who is interested in what I'm saying and will not interrupt; that I'm doing this with 10,000 individuals at once is just being efficient about it.

Helps that I've decided that if I'm going to be wrong, I'm going to be definitively wrong.

I'm a so-so to "good" public speaker. I used to be a terrible public speaker. I'll probably never be a great orator or Steve Jobs, but I'm pretty happy with my presentation skills. In group settings, I'm often the one chosen to give the public presentation.

Some things that improved me:

1) My university undergrad CS program required a semester of public speaking. Everybody hated it. It's probably one of the top 3 most important classes I took. If you're in a school that doesn't require it, take it as an elective.

2) I had a teaching job for a few years. Getting points across day in and day out, and trying to drag a class along of people at very different learning speeds teaches you very quickly how to project and enunciate so people can hear you well. Watching the faces of, and talking to, the people in the back rows becomes a very important speaking tool.

3) To deal with stage fright, I learned to mentally "not care" about giving the talk. It's hard to explain, it doesn't mean "not caring about doing a good job", it just means to adopt a viewpoint of detached apathy. Before I learned how to do this, even small stumbles would send me into a panic state which only made it worse ending with an avalanche of stutters and tied tongues. Detached apathy turns those little stumbles into such unimportant things that I don't even know they happened until I listen to a recording of my talk or see myself in a presentation.

4) Practice your speech. Because it's important to look up every once in a while in order to project. Practicing your speech helps you do that, instead of looking down into your note cards or your script. I don't practice it relentlessly like Steve Jobs or President Obama. 2 or 3 runs through is usually good enough for most of my purposes. But it helps you keep your focus on not caring.

5) Practice giving speeches. I haven't done it, but I've heard lots of good things about Oration societies like Toastmasters. In my case I got plenty of practice while teaching. But for those people who don't have that option, this is a great option. Nothing gets you used to the routine of giving speeches like giving speeches.

It may also help if you're what's known as an "outward introvert." This topic is discussed in the book "the highly sensitive person" where introverts are basically dissected along the lines of "outward" and "inward." I would consider myself an "outward introvert" (like an extrovert except I pay a bit more dearly for it after the fact) and have no problem with public speaking, teaching, etc. I have a good friend who is an "inward introvert" and she avoids anything even close to speaking to a group.