Public Speaking

Speaking in public, or public speaking, may be a challenge for some of us, with seemingly endless opportunities to goof up and disgrace yourself in front of an audience. The good news is that you can do it. I've simplified the art of public speaking to make it less intimidating and even enjoyable.

Start at the beginning. You have to think about the presentation. Preparation can guarantee that you produce a speech that effectively transmits a message you want to express. You should concentrate on the main point of your presentation and state it clearly at the beginning and finish, make it as simple as possible.

Many speakers still follow the “more is more” concept of packing as much information as possible onto their slides – dense text, complex lists, and difficult-to-see charts in small fonts that require squinting to read from the back of the room. Here are some suggestions for dealing with this type of issue:

• Each slide should have no more than a dozen words. People will get bored reading your slide if it has too much information.
• Make sure the font is large enough to read comfortably from the back of the room. Because you may not know the size of the screen you'll be using, it's preferable to overestimate rather than underestimate.
• Don't read too much of your slide
• Add photographs

If you're new to public speaking, write your speech out completely ahead to avoid any major blunders. Make sure you're writing using conversational words, phrases, and sentence patterns in mind. After that you can start practicing to push yourself to speak for a few sentences without reading your notes precisely.

If you follow these guidelines, you will be successful. You've earned the privilege of being invited to express your opinions. So be your best self, generate some excitement (and perhaps some inspiration) in the audience, and people will remember you long after you've left the stage.