Speaking before groups vs conversations

I'm not sure how many of you feel this way, but if I had to choose between giving a speech in front of a packed Madison Square Garden or spending the same amount of time talking one on one with a stranger at a party, I'll take the speech every time. For all my neuroses, public speaking has never bothered me because I just think of them as a single mass, instead of individuals. At the party, I have to engage with the speaker, "correctly" respond to what they're saying, and feign interest. My personal Hell would be an eternity of small talk at a loud party.