Public Speaking Do’s and Don’ts

Have you ever seen a movie where the main character goes up in front of their class to deliver a speech, gets extremely nervous, and then faints or runs out of the room followed by laughter? Does the idea of delivering a speech in front of others make you think you’d to do the same? Does that sound like your personal nightmare? Giving speeches or presentations in class can be a very nerve-wracking experience, whether you’re a freshman this year who’s doing it for the first time or a senior who needs to deliver their senior project speech but still doesn’t have public speaking down to a science yet. Luckily there are lots of things you can do to not only calm your nerves but also to prepare yourself for when you have to speak in front of a crowd.

There are lots of things to keep in mind as you prepare for a speech, but one thing that can help you through the entire process is remembering to stay organized. It’s a key element that can help you while you’re writing your speech, planning it, practicing it, or even delivering it. You should treat it as a main priority as your presentation date approaches. Even little details matter: if you decide to use notecards, write them nicely, or if you have a visual to go along with what you’re talking about, have it look presentable, even professional. It might seem trivial to focus on details like this, but if you know that you’ll get really nervous when you speak in public you’ll find the attention to detail is well worth it. Organization helps incredibly with stress because even though you may be nervous you know you have everything you need and that you were well prepared for anything that could be thrown at you in advance. The way you approach writing your speech should be organized as well so it doesn’t overwhelm you. Don’t wait until the night before to write it, but instead set some time aside over the course of a few days to really nail down what you want to say.  

The second most important thing to keep in mind while preparing for your speech is to practice! The day of your presentation shouldn’t be the first time you recite your entire speech out loud to an audience. Practicing your speech as many times as you can not only help you catch awkward phrasing or sentence fluency issues, but it also does an amazing job at getting you more familiar with your material. If you spread out how many times you practice your presentation many people find that as the presentation day approaches they have more of it memorized, which can help your nerves if you’re scared you’ll forget what you want to say once you get in front of others. Getting someone to listen to your delivery is the next step while you practice. Listening to others feedback can be very reassuring and helpful because not only are you getting a second opinion, you’re also getting practice talking in front of others.

Once you have your speech ready and you’ve practiced it well there are always ways to make improvements in your delivery that will really make you shine. It helps to walk around a bit so you can catch people’s eyes again if your speech is on the longer side. Eye contact is always stressed when people give advice on speeches, but a better trick than that is to focus your gaze on the back wall of the room instead of briefly looking your audience members in the eyes. Keeping your posture upright can also send a very good impression as you talk. Little details like this shouldn’t be overlooked.

Last but not least, finish strong with a good conclusion. Most audience members walk away from a speech and remember two main parts of it, the introduction and the conclusion. Try to restate your main points briefly to remind everyone of what you were trying to get across. Try to make make your tone more focused, and end with a statement instead of trailing off and quietly announcing that you’re finished.

If you stay organized, prepare yourself, and get your point across with a good ending, then you’ll find there was no reason to be so nervous about giving a speech in the first place.