What's the best way to deal with social phobia & public speaking?

Face your fear: Learn skills to manage the physical discomfort you get when thinking about speaking or being in social situations. Work with a therapist to build these skills. Learn skills to speak in public, practice often, practice in front of a video camera and watch it to learn how to improve your presence. Join toastmasters to help with this. Speak in front of a trusted friend or two who will be supportive.

Desensitization: Start regularly socializing with small, and i mean small groups of people you know personally in a variety of social situations, and slowly increase the number of friends. Then, slowly have your friends invite people you may not know personally, just one or two to start with, and increase the numbers of known and unknown people over time. Should the anxiety spike, stick with smaller mixed groups.