jitters
noun

- a feeling of nervousness which you experience before something important happens

(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

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Although some people claim to have "nerves of steel," many get the jitters before speaking or performing in public for instance. The jitters, or stage fright as it is also called, can happen to even the most veteran performer before the curtain goes up.

American singer, actress and director Barbara Streisand is an example. She developed stage fright later in her career, despite having experienced years of success. After forgetting the words to several songs during a 1967 concert in New York’s Central Park, she stopped singing in public for many years thereafter.

Streisand became extremely self-conscious, had little self-confidence and feared she would embarrass herself in public again. She fought hard to overcome the jitters however and decided to conduct a comeback tour. She gradually started giving concerts in smaller venues, before touring nationally again.

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SYNONYMS

anxiety, butterflies in the stomach, in a cold sweat, the fidgets, the heebie-jeebies, nerves, the shakes, the shivers, tenseness, the willies

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Practice OWAD in a conversation today, say something like:

"I usually get THE JITTERS before giving a presentation, but they disappear once I get started."