As you prepare your speech, ascertain you know your topic well. Research your topic completely. Write down
Ra of everything you want to cover, and be clear and concise so that you can refer to it as needed during your speech. The work you put into your speech will pay off in big ways if your audience has questions or you need to in any way reflect back on your work for a summary.
Make eye contact with your audience members. Doing so makes them feel as if you are speaking directly to them and helps keep them engaged. It also makes you appear confident and poised. Look at various members of the audience as you speak to help engage as many of them as possible.
Keep moving if you suddenly realize you skipped something in your outline. Don't call attention to it and disrupt the flow of your speech. Plus, if you don't draw attention to something that was omitted, then your audience probably won't even realize anything was missing.
Project your voice when you speak in front of an audience. This is particularly true if you do not have the benefit of a microphone. You want everyone in the room to be able to hear you, so do not be afraid to speak as loudly as necessary to accomplish that. There is no point in making a speech that most of the audience cannot hear.
Practice deep breathing if you're nervous. Inhaling deeply and exhaling completely helps to calm your nerves before starting your speech. Breath in and out very slowly, counting to four or five on each inhale and exhale. Do this six times to calm yourself down.
Use YouTube to watch and view the masters of public speaking. Watch not only for their content, but also for their styles and habits. Pay close attention to famous moments and replicate such mannerisms sparingly for specific effect. Watch speeches of your favorite presidents or other national leaders, as you can find videos going back decades.
To increase your effectiveness as a public speaker, maintain good posture when you speak. To inspire confidence you should stand comfortably upright and avoid common posture problems such as slouching or leaning to one side during the presentation. If you don't intend to use gestures keep your hands in a neutral position, either straight down at your sides or in front of the body with one hand over the other at about navel height. Hold the attention of your audience by adopting a calm and upright demeanor.
Many people start a speech with a joke in order to grab the audience's attention, so keep this in mind as you are figuring out what to say. If you are going to tell a joke, make sure that it is tasteful and on topic. Otherwise, you risk alienated some of them.
Improve your public speaking by concluding with a call to action. A call to action does not have to mean giving your audience the hard sell. Instead, focus on suggesting actions that truly will benefit your audience members. Explain how your call to action will help them and make sure the action you recommend is simple and effective. Include a helpful call to action in every public speaking engagement.
Try to find humor in the situation if things do not go as planned. There are many variables when you speak in public, which means that there are many opportunities for things to go wrong. The microphone or projector may not work, there may be an interruption in power or someone may enter the room in the midst of your speech. Try to take things in stride. Taking things too seriously can result in you having a meltdown, so try to laugh off any issues that may arise.
After reading the above tips, you shoul feel more confident and at ease about public speaking. You can talk in front of anyone without trepidation. Use these ideas to make yourself more comfortable. You can help other people that have the same fears.