Phil Mancini.com

Speaking in front of other people can seem very intimidating at first, but everyone has to do it sooner or later. Giving a presentation in person can be an invaluable opportunity to get the right message across, and getting it right isn’t usually all that difficult. Here’s a simple ten point guide to preparing for any public speech you need to make:

1. Know your topic
Public speaking is all about confidence, and you’ll be much more confident if you have a firm grasp of the subject you’ll be speaking about. If you’re lucky, the presentation will already be in your area of expertise, but if not it’s time to do some research. Read up on the topic a bit, you won’t regret it.

2. Know your time
It’s always a good idea to find out how much time you will have to give your speech. Normally there will be an opportunity for questions afterword, so try to make your presentation about ten or fifteen minutes shorter than the allotted time. Having a time limit to work toward will give you something to be sure of when you prepare. You don’t want to end up going overtime or, worse, finishing twenty minutes to soon.

3. Sketch out a plan
Now that you’re familiar with your topic, you’ll probably be able to give a half decent speech without too much preparation. Still, you should make up some kind of an outline. Resist the urge to write out every sentence, as this will most likely trip you up when you forget something. Instead, know the points you want to hit and how you’ll want to hit them.

4. Practice in front of someone
You will need to rehearse your speech at least once before giving it. A mirror might be fine, but if you really want to be prepared you should have a live audience. Treat this seriously, and try to go through without stopping. Afterword, ask if your audience noticed anything distracting that you may not be aware you do at the podium. Many people tend to fidget, play with their hair, stare at the ceiling, etc… These habits, while they may be harmless in normal situations, can hurt when you’re trying to get a point across.

5. Think about the audience
Different audiences will have different levels of knowledge about your subject before you step up to the podium. A group of physics professor don’t need you to take three minutes to explain momentum, but a group of high school students might need much more than that. Try to anticipate what things the audience will want or need you to spend more time on, and what questions they might have afterword. After you have made more than one speech in front of the same type of group, you will get a better feel for this.

6. Don’t feel pressured to make a joke
This needs to be included, because many first-time public speakers feel like they need to make joke to get the audience’s attention. This can be remarkably successful, but don’t rely on it or make your speech hang on the success of a single quip. If nobody laughs (and this can happen to anyone), you might feel awkward and muddle the rest of your speech. If you’re energetic and clearly enthusiastic about your topic, you
captivate the audience anyway.

7. Dress nicely
You probably won’t need to wear a tux, but dressing the part will help you to be more confident in front of a room full of people. Try not to worry too much about this on the day of your speech, but be sure you’ve planned beforehand so you have the clothes you’ll need to wear.

8. Arrive early
This is a simple one. Try to arrive early to wherever you are going to be speaking. Make sure they’re ready for you, and take a last chance to make little mental adjustments to your speech if you feel you need to. Arriving late for your own event is definitely a bad idea.

9. Meet people
If you get a chance to, try to be friendly and meet some new people before your talk. Even if you’re not normally much of an extrovert, this will help you let your guard down and act more naturally, which people really relate well to. Act confident, and don’t tell people you are nervous because this will feed your anxiety.

10. Relax
Try not to let yourself get too nervous, feeling stressed won’t help you, and can cause you to freeze up. Remember that public speaking is really very easy. You have a lot of leeway up there to make little mistakes, change around your wording, and interact with your audience.
Compared to formal writing, for example, public speaking is a breeze.

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