Stage Fright

I thought this picture was really funny.  But anyways....

Today I had to give a presentation in my Spanish class and it didn't go so well.  In hindsight, I probably didn't have enough information, although I did practice it a few times and found that it took the whole ten minutes.  My problem is that I don't have a stage presence.  I always feel like people are bored when I'm talking.  Like no matter what I say they aren't going to want to pay attention.  So then I start talking faster and faster so that they don't have to listen to me for very long, but then I blow through everything I wanted to say in half the time that I wanted to say it in.

I actually don't get that nervous when things are scripted or if it's musical.  My senior year of high school I played Queen Elizabeth in this giant choir production.  I had to sing a few solos and I had to recite lines for about a quarter of the whole production.  I looked like this:

I was not even that nervous for it.  Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, but I don't know.  That was definitely the biggest public performance I've ever done (or probably ever will do), and I wasn't bad.

My sister Camille is one of those people who feels completely comfortable talking in front of large groups of people, even if it's just spur of the moment.  At least that's what she makes it seem like.

She always seems so comfortable, and people really listen to her when she talks.

So what's the secret guys?  How do I keep people interested?  How do I command their attention?

And now it's time for a breakdown.  Not really, I just wanted to throw that in there.