Coming in late to the thread, and a lot of good advice has already been given but I will just reiterate - 1) Practice a few pieces till you know them cold. You need to really be confident that you will recall all the words even when under pressure 2) Force yourself to sing at the next opportunity, even though you're nervous. One train of thought that helped me to overcome nerves was to ask myself "What really will happen if I make a mistake, or if I don't go over well". The answer - "Nothing". Although a mistake may loom big in your mind it will be quickly forgotten by the audience. Often they don't even realize you've made a mistake if you can catch yourself quickly and go on singing. Even if you really mess up - it's just a blip on the radar screen. They'll forget about it after the next couple of singers. At the most, they might think fleetingly that you're having a bad day. After messing up numerous times in front of people, and realizing that nothing happens and nobody remembered it except for me, I don't get nervous any more about singing in public. Oh and as for somebody criticising you or telling you you can't sing - I wasn't allowed to join the choir in fourth grade because I 'couldn't sing' - but I went on sing professionally in my later years and still get gigs!