How to speak confidently, with drier pants

Everyone (yes. Everyone) has butterflies that sometimes grow into dragonflies in our stomachs, while we speak to others(especially those we hold in high esteem.)

"I 've always known this guy had a mental impairment. Now he's confirmed my suspicion by uttering the dumbest gibberish ever conceived by human mind. How can he say we all feel nervous when speaking at times. What about Obama, Martin Luther, Taraji Henson, Kevin Hart and even James Bond!" you may say, after reading the first paragraph.

We'll, truth is, sometimes even I myself wonder if these charisma geniuses ever even have these insects we mortals have performing a rowdy concert in our bellies, while we speak. But an honest confession Martin Luther made to me, proved unarguably to me that all humans really had their fair share of butterflies(stop murmuring.)The only difference is that some people(like those above) have so mastered the art of suppressing these butterflies, cockroaches or whatever they are, so that they are almost impotent.

So how the he'll do they do it?

Before running down the chemstore and gulping a whole tin of insecticides to kill the flies that lodge in your stomach, here are the safer and more efficacious ways those elites use to remain so natural and unaffected, even before multitudes.

1. Shift the burden:
Now, what on earth is that? Recall that infamous time in school, when the idea of dating was still new, mighty addicting(I smelled my crush's seat after school) and highly underutilized. You are in the same math class with your crush, and your math teacher is the ugliest version of the word: boring. You quickly find worthy distractions with your buddies, while Mrs Woody blabbles some incantations while signing many signatures on the board. And then out of the blues...Mrs Woody points at you to answer a question on a topic you never even knew existed.

"If... *incantation*... *incantation*.. is = √24/8, find the unknown."

You're up, as confused as a bush country ram in a Paris traffic at rush hour! Everyone who isn't asleep yet has their eyes set on you. You slowly turn to your crush's seat and bam.. She's as awake as ever. 5seconds gone and you are as mute as an ant. Then suddenly, the best kid in math quickly shouts "5" as the answer. Then you are quickly like

5! 5! Oh Mike, c'mon I knew that.

But in your mind, you quickly make a two point prayer that (1)Mike should be right this time like other times, and (2)Mrs Woody should buy your act, and please, please not ask you another question!

This is a typical instance of shifting the burden.
Therefore, shifting the burden is moving the burden of speaking or being in the dreaded spotlight to others. But note that in real conversations, it only works while speaking to a single person, or among a very small group. Plus you should tot be more subtle and less awkward in how you do it in communicating with real people. So, instead of staring and waiting for someone to redeem you from your pit of confusion and nervousness, you more sophisticatedly shift the pressure to measure up and impress, to those you are speaking to, while still seeming in control. How?

i. Compliment others.
ii. Ask, or talk about their concerns.

i. Compliment Others: One of the strongest reasons for sweaty palms, foreheads and mustache while we speak, is because we are unsure and worried about how we look to our audience. A good way to shift this pressure is to comment positively on the appearance of others in your audience. This helps detract the other person's attention from your appearance so as to find faults, to theirs, as talking about it, shifts the spotlight to them. So, they end up becoming the self conscious ones, since we all are somehow concerned about how we physically measure up. They'd keep thinking: "am I really looking stunning, or is he just mocking me and actually thinks that zit on my chin makes me look like "the joker!!?" These self-conscious thoughts will occupy the other person's attention which may otherwise have been focused on you; placing you on the solid ground, which will ease your own pressure.

ii. Ask or talk about others: You feel the most pressure while you are the one speaking. A super way to shift this burdensome duty is to get others to do more of the talking. Do this by asking those you are speaking with, questions about themselves, that just can't be answered with a simple "yes" or "no" - questions about their interests, abilities, experiences and the likes'll work just fine. This way, all you need do is sit back, relax, listen and play devil's advocate by letting them feel da heat. Just don't let it seem like an interrogation. Drop in few hints about yourself too(especially when asked,) and could start talking more, as you become more comfortable with speaking to others.

2. Think of your audience(not yourself) in your speech:
If you're even a little more observant than a blind man, you'd notice that the only way you can succeed and even get away with using the 1st two tricks above to hide nervousness, is and only if you are speaking to a single person, or small group. C'mon. You don't expect that complimenting members of a jury, and/or asking them open-ended questions will shift their focus and they'll forget that your ass should be rotting in a solitary cell, if you flop at putting up a good defense!
What can help in this case(public speaking,) is a properly researched and prepared pre-rehearsed speech.

But when planning and even delivering your speech, your prime focus should not be on looking or sounding good (appearance and the perfect vocab,) but on addressing the needs of your audience. So, try to know as much as possible about your audience beforehand. Then, present what you say in form of what they need and want to hear, and focus on and think of these needs while you speak and not on the exact words you use or how flattering your looks are. Though these should also be qualitative.