I really like mommamia’s and minyan gal’s approaches. I was actually extremely shy and stagefright throughout high school, and when I took a public speaking class in my senior year I thought I would completely fail. But after a few speeches I realized that I became much more comfortable with it. I realized that I have nothing to be afraid of, and I can even use my creativity to actually create an effect through my speeches. That’s when public speaking became my complete favorite class! I took another public speaking class in college, and loved it even more.
So, shyness affects many many people, and there are different methods of dealing with it. But one is to simply get up there conquer your fear by getting used to speaking in public and having open opinions. People will see how valuable your opinions and advice are and you will feel so much better about yourself.