Most everyone gets anxious about giving speeches. For some, the anxiety is overwhelming, or close to it. About 85 percent of the population experiences "stage fright" when giving a speech, according to Michael Motley, professor of communication at UC Davis. "Surveys show that the No.1 fear among Americans adults -- ranking above fear of snakes, heights, disease, financial problems or even death -- is the fear of speaking before a group," he says. After studying hundreds of high-anxiety speakers over the past several years, Motley has developed a therapy technique that can successfully lower the fear associated with giving a speech. He has now documented this method in a new book titled "Overcoming Your Fear of Public Speaking -- A Proven Method," published by McGraw-Hill. Motley says the key to reducing fear is to view the speech as an opportunity to convey ideas and to realize the audience is more interested in learning about the topic than in analyzing or criticizing the presentation. He believes this "communication-oriented method" to be the most effective of existing speech-anxiety therapies.