How to make a good presentation in the public?

[NorthWord]

Practice your speech (with que cards if necessary) in front of a mirror.
Then again in front of a friend,
and again in front of a few friends,

On the day of your engagement, ask one of those friends to sit in the audience. Somewhere in the middle, and speak to them. A few minutes in, your confidence will build and you'll be able to address the whole audience - look for friendly faces.

DON'T picture everyone naked as some might suggest. If you're a man, it could lead to an embarrassing situation requiring a podium.

[dmills]

Not sure if the original poster is still around, but I HIGHLY second the suggestion to try Toastmasters. It is a great organization for people to gain confidence in their public speaking ability in a positive/supportive environment. There are approximately 20 clubs that meet here in Anchorage/Mat Su. Go to Yukon Alaska Council of Toastmasters for more information.

[R_Cowgirl]

GoodHappy - good for you - learning to speak well in public is the smartest thing you can do for your career. I'm a Professional Speaker and have been doing this my entire life. I've spoken now to more than 350,000 people in 6 countries. I LOVE it. You get to stand up and speak and change people's lives. It's a wonderful opportunity to make the world a better place with your knowledge and your experience.

The other posters are all making good points: That Yukon Toastmasters link on an earlier post is a great place to start.

A few things I tell beginning speakers:
1. Know your topic backwards and forwards. That way you can answer questions, and won't be thrown off if you lose your place.

2. To help with that, memorize your main points and put them on an index card. Instead of memorizing the entire speech, memorize the stories or the examples. That gives you a little leeway with time and questions.

If you do write it all out, as our good pastor suggested, keep practicing it over and over until it isn't a speech you are READING as much as it's material you KNOW.

3. Yes! Dress comfortably. Don't undo all your preparation by wearing a new suit or something that is too tight or itchy. You'll be nervous enough in the beginning. That would make it worse.

4. Practice in front of kids, your dogs, patient friends, the mirror. Practice your stories as you're driving down the road. Don't just memorize, inhale the information so it becomes part of you.

5. Tape record yourself so you know what your goofy habits are. We all do something without realizing it. Because of my time in Hawaii, I'm like a Canadian -- LOL -- I used to end sentences with "Yah?" I also had to learn to plant my feet so i didn't wander around stage so much. I'm STILL learning-- so don't be discouraged.

6. The two most important things to plan about your speech are the ending and the opening-- IN THAT ORDER. First - what do you want them to walk away with? What feeling or emotion? What action? What idea? Why are you there? Once you have written a powerful closing sentence... THEN you are ready to write a powerful speech. Take that closing idea and make it into an opening statement - so you are starting with the end in mind: "Here's what I want to have happen. Here's what you will be hearing. Here's why it would be beneficial for you to hear me. Here's the order of our conversation." Then go into your three points and supporting stories, facts, data, etc.

Think of your speech as a gift to people you care about, or a gift to a cause that matters to you. Unless you are a comedian, it's not really a performance, it's a conversation with a lot of people listening in. That's what another poster meant when they said to pick one or two people in the room and talk to them. (I often make friends with people in different parts of the audience. I tell them they have to laugh at my jokes and help me out if anyone gets rowdy. Now I have people on my side ... and they actually DO IT!! LOL. If the audience is difficult, I seek out those new friends I've just made. This works with 20 people, or 50, or 100, or 5,000.)

One last thing (don't take this the wrong way) -- being too afraid on stage often means you're giving yourself too much credit... YOU think everyone is actually hanging on to your every word! They aren't! They listen and then their brain goes off for a second to think about what you said, then they come back, then they go off on a brain safari again, then back to you. If there are a hundred people in the room, only about 20% are with you the whole time. The other 80% come and go. I know, shocking!

Like anything else -- the more you do it, the more comfortable you will be. Have fun with it, be in conversation with it, and don't worry about your language skills. People are surprisingly supportive of that - they WANT you to succeed. I admire you for wanting to get better, and for speaking in a language that's not your first one.

DM me if you want some links and ideas on how to proceed.