Top 10 Public Speaking Tips

1.  PRACTICE AND PREPARE!
The best way to beat anxiety is to prepare. Take time to go over your presentation several times. Once you are satisfied with the material, practice. Get a friend to evaluate your performance or videotape yourself.

2. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.
Your speech is about your listeners, not you. Learn all you can about your audience before crafting your message. Match your contents i.e. your choice of words, structure, and motivational message accordingly.

3. ORGANIZE YOUR CONTENT IN A LOGICAL SEQUENCE.
Create the structure for your speech. Write down your topic, general scope, specific purpose, central idea, and the most important points. You have the first 30 seconds to catch the audience's attention.

4. USE YOUR POWERPOINT SLIDES WISELY.
PowerPoint Slides should enhance your presentation and maintain your audience’s attention. Use less text and more pictures! Remember, one main message for each slide.

5. YOU ARE THE PRESENTATION
Focus on telling your story, and make your PowerPoint slides be the support for your main ideas.

6. WATCH OUT FOR REACTIONS AND ADAPT ACCORDINGLY.
Focus on your audience. Respond to their reactions, adjust, adapt your message mid-stream if needed and stay flexible.

7. LET YOUR PERSONALITY SHINE THROUGH.
Be yourself! You will establish credibility if your personality shines through, and your audience will trust you more. Add humor, tell stories where possible. Include a funny anecdote into your presentation to grab or retain the audience’s attention.

8. DON’T READ FROM NOTES; WORK FROM AN OUTLINE.
A brief outline can jog your memory and keep you on track. Do not read from notes for an extended period. You should only glance at your notes occasionally. Don’t use your slides as a teleprompter!!

9. USE YOUR BODY LANGUAGE EFFECTIVELY.
Nonverbal communication, especially hand gestures or facial expressions, carries most of the message.

10. GRAB ATTENTION AT THE BEGINNING, FINISH WITH AN IMPRESSIVE ENDING.
Start with a startling statistic, an amusing anecdote, or short quotation. Finish off your speech with a summary and a strong statement that your audience will remember.