If I go through an assessment of my comfort before large groups, I would rate myself with pretty decent scores. I hardly stutter before the audience, I manage to keep a steady flow of words and stage paralysis has been a thing of distant past for me.

But reaching this stage has been a journey through all kinds of impediments that one faces while getting better at public speaking. It has taken a good 15 years to reach this level of comfort with the stage. I remember I had my first stint at public speaking when I had to read daily news in my school in 5th grade. Though it does not qualify to be a public speech, yet it was the first time I faced the crowd, instead of being a face in the crowd