Best practices for gaining confidence as a public speaker?

I've been involved with Toastmasters, and I've taken Dale Carnegie's speaking course. The best way to get more comfortable with speaking to groups is to do lots of it. Early in my career, I had a boss who would make me get up every Monday in front of an office of salesmen and make a presentation. Although I hated it at the time, it was a baptism by fire that made me unafraid of speaking to any audience. Over time, I refined my technique to the point that I was comfortable being in front of them. That only comes with practice.

Walk around during the break before your speech and introduce yourself to several people in the audience. Ask them about themselves. Remember at least one of their names and what they told you; this will help you understand what your audience is expecting to take home from your speech. It'll also make you feel more like you have a few "friends" out there as you're speaking. If you feel comfortable doing so and it wouldn't make that person feel uncomfortable, incorporate some of what you'd discussed into your presentation. It makes it feel more personalized for the group, makes that person feel special for being remembered, and shows the rest of the audience that you're aware of their needs. For example: "Sally was just telling me that her company is doing yada-yada, and that's a great example of the x principle I'm talking about here." or "George said that he often faces yada-yada at work; have any of you also had that experience?" Look toward the person and smile as you say it to reinforce the association.

Doing the above is a good way to involve the audience in your presentation. You can also ask them a question, and ask for a show of hands. Hold up your hand as you say "Show of hands, how many of you...?" Then address them with your next point based on the feedback. "I see most of you..." or "Not very many....". Sometimes, if you're giving a very long presentation, it's important to actually get them out of their seats, perhaps to divide them into small focus groups to work on a project for a few minutes, or to divide them into larger groups that illustrate a point in your presentation. This makes them move around and avoids any boredom that may be creeping in.

I also use handouts, if the crowd isn't too large, that aren't complete. They have an outline with no details in it, or fill-in-the-blank sentences of key concepts in the presentation. This gives the people something to do as you're talking, and provides a structured way to take notes. They're less likely to daydream or doze off if you're saying something they need to complete their handout. In a training situation, you can even give them a little quiz to make sure they understand what you're telling them. If you're speaking to a stadium-sized crowd, that won't work, but most of us don't have that problem...yet!

Simple: Locate your local chapter of Toastmasters - and join.

The best thing that I did (which my company paid for at the time) was have a coach video me and then critique how I was doing while we both watched. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Likely you know your subject matter, or something in the neighborhood, or you wouldn't be in this position in the first place...so I wouldn't obsess on that. You just need an understanding of what you really look like when you do it, and adjust accordingly.

The most important way is to find a route to getting passionate...I mean real passionate...about your topic and then letting your audience discover it! Some people find a lot of preparation does that; some find a unique story or approach at presenting the topic does it. Beyond that, focus on being yourself. Remember the audience will remember your spirit long after they have forgotten your message! Have fun. Surrender to the audience...they are not there as your speech coach, referee or boss. Treat them like your guest and partner. Partners don't focus on perfection or worry about a few hiccups; they care about authenticity and value.

All the research and prep in the world didn't prepare me for the butterflies and anxiety I felt before going on stage. In fact, I still feel butterflies before speaking.

My best advice for gaining confidence is to do it. I volunteered to speak for small professional groups to learn my stride. Small groups tend to be supportive and will offer you the encouragement that will build your confidence. Preparation is necessary. Staying on time shows respect to the group. Once you know your talk, don't wait for everything to be perfect, go out and share it as often as possible.

I wish you luck!

To build confidence, nothing beats practice...and Toast Masters is a good way of getting practice as well as constructive feedback. (I was never a Member but know the organization very well)

Someone once told me that the majority of the audience want you to succeed and feel your pain if you stumble in any way. They are on your side. Very few (if any) are against you and so relax and focus on being the best you can be. That was very sound advice and did me well.

I do believe that a bit of nerves are good for you. I often tel people that ask me if I am still afraid when I am about to walk in stage? I say, I always have butterflies in my stomach and the day that I don't is the day I will give up speaking. The trick is to get the butterflies to fly in formation.

Be confident without being arrogant
Be concise without being patronizing
Be passionate without being evangelical
Be clear without being snobby
Be proud without being aloof
Be humble without being timid
Above all....be yourself

I have done the following:

Be secure in your knowledge of the subject

Have a mental picture (practice it) of you speech (or use notes, etc)

Don't become beholden to your PPT (personal dislike)

Focus on only a few faces, but scan the audience. Those few (hopefully will bring you body language that says your scoring positively), but if not scanning may confirm or deny. If your failing, modify your speech, it's tempo, it's language).

As you feel more confidant during the speech, scan more of the audience, it helps you and them connect.

It the speech calls for it, ask questions of the audience that brings some level of interaction.

Oh, one last item, probably most important to the whole process - enjoy yourself! That will come across to the audience...

Good luck!

Great responses. Here are a few "practical" (if not obvious) tips....

Practice the timing! Nothing causes anxiety and breaks the flow of a solid presentation like trying to speed up/slow down to meet the agreed length of the engagement. Ever spend so much time on the first 75% of the presentation that you rush through the final slides (which likely contain the impact, summary and actions)? Or have the need to "stretch" at the end to fill the full time slot? You get the picture.

Practice the flow with a timer (a lot). Flow is different than timing. Use whatever works for you (Power Point's embedded timer, your watch, etc). Don't use your smart phone or any device that can distract in any way. Even if the ringer is off, looking at the phone may subconsciously communicate - "what call have I missed?", "I forgot to return a call", etc. A simple analog watch works wonders here.

The greatest sports advice I ever received was "eat a pre-game meal that you like the way it tastes" meaning "you really don't want to be tasting shrimp scampi when it's 'third and long'". Well, same applies here. Light and bland are your friends here folks. Save the "carne asada burrito" for after the preso!

Have a glass of water nearby. If you feel stuck pause and take a sip. That three second break will allow you to regain your composure and be on your way.

Some simple stuff but removing obstacles and challenges really allow you to focus on the task at hand. Have fun and good luck!

I did two things to increase my confidence in public speaking as a presales consultant. I converted my presentation into a story and I modeled my storytelling after the storytelling ability of the preacher (Dr. Lonnie Southern) at the church I attended each Sunday. While this may not work for everyone, here is what I suggest. Find and learn from a speaker you trust and get in front of an audience as much as possible. Having a desired method and the ability to practice are key to becoming a great public speaker. The other thing is feedback. Ask everyone and anyone to tell you how much they enjoyed your presentation. Good luck!

If using visuals, memorize the slides so you can say something about the next slide before you punch it up. Prevents you from using the slides as lecture notes, and gives the audience confidence that you are in charge of the material, not the projector...

Lots of great answers here - just putting in another vote for Dale Carnegie. As others have also said - practice - every time you do it, it gets easier.

Remember to speak to and engage with the audience - pick out people (move around of course) and speak to them directly. Do NOT speak to the screen, the laptop, or the podium.

Last but not least, WRAP UP EARLY (which also means time yourself). SO many speakers drone on and on, and go past their allotted times. Audiences are almost always happier when you're done on the early side - which allows plenty of time for Q&A, or for them to take off. The higher scores you'll get in return are the best confidence-booster of all.

What you need to do is learn to control your anxiety and use it to fuel your enthusiasm.

Identifying Fears
The first thing to remember is that anxiety, or ‘nerves’, means you are alive and without them your resulting presentation would be like you - dead!

To control your anxiety, you must identify what it is that you are afraid of:

• Is it forgetting your lines?

• Is it the audience’s size?

Once you have established what exactly you are afraid of, then establish whether or not you can control it.

Imagine you are the captain of an airliner - do you fear flying? Of course not, because you are in complete control of, not only the aircraft, but also the crew and the passengers.

You have a flight plan and, before you take off, you know the payload, weather conditions for the flight, arrival time, departure time etc. However, what is most significant - you are familiar with flying, you are comfortable with all of that responsibility because you have flown so many times before and you know virtually everything there is to know about that aircraft.

Therein lies the secret - the more presentations we deliver, the more accomplished we become. But equally, we must know what we are talking about, we must know our subject matter inside out - otherwise our audience will find us out!

Let’s consider the areas that you can control

• Your audience - After all, you invited them

• Your material - You designed it

• Your resources - You chose to utilize them

• Yourself - You’re no puppet!

If there are any areas you’ve identified that you can’t control, forget them - it’ll probably never happen.

Controlling nerves and reducing anxiety

Organize - Give yourself plenty of time to prepare, know what is going to happen and when.

Take the time to rehearse your presentation - preferably with someone you know well. Get them to pride you with objective and constructive criticism.

Visualize - Get into the habit of visualizing how the presentation will go. That way, the environment will feel familiar - even if it’s your first time. Imagine the end of your presentation and your audience smiling with appreciation.

Drying up - Make bullet point notes on individual postcards to prompt you (not lengthy scripts) - you may not need them, but they will give you that “comfort zone”. Do remember to number them though, just in case you accidentally shuffle them!

Relaxation - Before your presentation, take some time for yourself to relax, breathe deeply, go out into the fresh air and clear your head. Do not allow your mind to mentally rehearse the entire presentation, because you need simply to concentrate on your opening lines. Once you have successfully navigated your way through the first couple of minutes, you will begin to relax. A strong opening is crucial.

Warming Up - Clear your throat, practice your smile, drink some water to ensure you are hydrated, etc.

Dress appropriately and check your posture - If you look the part, everyone will assume you know what you are talking about anyway!

Become mobile - It will keep your audience awake.

Use eye contact and smile - They can’t fail to pay attention.

And finally - practice, practice, practice!

Hope this helps?

I follow Fred Miller from No Sweat Public Speaking by RSS and newsletter. http://ow.ly/4hPNW

As always, some good thoughts on this. I've done a fair amount of public speaking and as such, I always liked to watch others to see how they approach it. One of the best I've observed is Scott McNealy when he was running Sun. I would suggest watching some people who you consider good speakers and try to focus on what makes them good and how you can translate that to your speaking.

Another great speaker, who unfortunately passed away too young, was John Sidgemore. I had the pleasure of working for John and saw him speak often. I once asked him about it and he confided that even though he spoke a lot, he always got nervous before a speech. What he said he learned to do was that rather than fight the nervousness, embrace it and use that energy to drive your speech. After this conversation, I saw him give a speech and I could really see what he was talking about. You could see how he was a bit nervous at the start and how he picked up momentum and really got a flow going.

It is fairly simplistic advice, but since then I've taken that as one of my main tenants before a speech. I embrace the nervousness and use it to funnel my energy during the talk.

Good luck.

Be as comfortable as you can with your subject and the practice, practice practice.

All great advice - and here's a small further tip.

Don't think presentation - think stories.

Write down the three objectives (maximum) you want people to remember.

And then think of three (ideally customer) stories that make the three points you want your audience to remember.

Pick stories you've been personally involved in and are passionate about.

And then just tell your stories, prefaced and followed by the three points you want your audience to remember.

Slides to support that are easy - the same slide to open and close with the three points on it, and then three pictures of the people you're talking about.

Everybody likes human stories - just tell them.

Best

Mike

Confidence comes from a few places.
I agree with everyone that recommended practice. Absolutely. And toastmasters is a great place to get that practice.
Here are a few other tips I use with the people I coach:

When prepping your speech:
Know your audience.
That means you should understand their needs and wants. How much do they know about your topic? Why do they need to know what you are about to tell them?

Know your topic
You need to be 100% confident about what you are speaking on

Know what you want your audience to do with the information you are providing them.
Know how you want your audience to feel.

Write down 30 questions your audience may ask you, and then craft answers to each of the questions. This allows you to either rewrite your speech to include your responses or to just feel completely confident that you will not be blindsided. It also allows you to see your material from your audiences point of view.

Practice speaking your speech out loud.

When giving your speech:
Breathe. Breathing diagrammatically http://www.cchs.net/health/health-info/docs/2400/2409.asp?index=9445 (which takes practice) lowers your blood pressure, your heart rate and brings much needed oxygen to your brain .

Unlike many people think, being successful public speaker is NOT a matter of "natural talent" (though it helps). Instead, it is the outcome of hard work in terms of preparation and deep knowledge of the subject, which is the cornestone to gaining confidence.

As for some tricks, yes I believe there's a few of them that can make a difference, so here's my $1M check list (others call it 10 commandments ;-)

1. Make sure you write a script for preparation (and "dry runs") and make sure you have destroyed it before moving on stage (otherwise you can't help looking at it).

2. Dry runs, again and again.

3. Always keep eye contact with the audience (and not your slides).

4. The best thing to do with your hands; forget them!

5. Keep your slides laconic (key bullets only) otherwise audience will try reading them instead of listening to you.

6. Keep your promise about the length of your speach (and never exceed 40'). Your mobile phone vibration can notify you a minute earlier to start resuming and no-one will notice ;-)

7. Believe it or not, it's more the tone of the voice that matters, rather than the content itself!

8. When you resume at the end (always do) you can still refer to something that you actually missed, in purpose or not... Everybody will think that you discussed about it, the minute each was distracted (WILL happen).

9. Humor (eg a joke) can be risky; might elevate your presentation if it works, but may equally ruin your confidence if it doesn't...It's your call.

10. Be careful of your body language; if you're too nervous (move too much back & forth, etc), it'll betray you.

A bonus one;

11. ...and YES, at the bottom line it's perfectly natural to be a little nervous! Happens all the time even to the most experienced speakers.

Two simple rules:
1. Practice as it makes a man perfect.
2. Do the thing which you fear the most.(for gaining confidence)

Lessons learned from 25 years of public speaking.
1. If you need slides to remember what you are going to say you aren't prepared.
2. Practice, Practice, Practice.
3. In most cases don't be canned be planned.
4. Remember it is not about what you know it is about what the audience needs and wants to know.
5. Talk to the audience not at the audience.
6. Always give your best stuff away.
7. Tell stories if you want them to remember.

All of these answers are good but the most important thing is: prepare, prepare, prepare! The best and most natural sounding speakers have spoken on their topic so many times they can do it in their sleep. Knowing your material inside and out allows you to relax, be in the moment and connect with your audience. And each positive connection fuels your confidence for the next presentation.

Have a clear objective always, i.e. know what you want the audience to do or think and push hard for that outcome. Fill your brain to the brim with evidence, examples, expert qouation and testimony to back up your case, and launch when needed. Practice talks and speeeches out loud in a room with soundproof walls or understanding neighbors. Structure your talk so even a 10-year-old sugar addict could follow your flow. Use simple words--instead of saying "super-annuated canine", say "old dog". Volunteer to speak any chance you get. The more uncomfortable, the better. Shock but never bore. Be brief. Get expert coaching.

Practice, man. Practice.

Start out small. Be confident in speaking in your daily conversations. This will domino effect into your onstage dialogue. But also put yourself out there in daily talks by speaking to people you wouldn't normally.

A great resource is a book called "Say it With Confidence" by Margo Krasne. It's available on Amazon in print or via Kindle. http://www.amazon.com/Say-Confidence-Overcome-Presentations-Speeches/dp/04466...

Margo also teaches workshops for individuals and groups. More information here:
http://www.margotkrasnespeakup.com/

I use her for training our clients and she's the best in the business.

I agree with Toastmasters - great place to practice and refine my presentations. Here in Portland OR we have a Videomasters Club - they record the meetings and air them on cable TV so an excellent option for learning how to be on camera.

Always include personal stories to illustrate sonme points. The most important body part to use is your heart. Even technical talks can include how you became fascinated with subject. The honesty and integrity that comes from within will make any speech shine.

I also use a Buddhist centering prayer - though that is not my relideon - just before I go on to pool & center my energy and focus my mind. It's just four lines - each thought deeply with a breath in and out:

May I be filled with loving kindness
May I be well
May I be calm and peaceful
May I be happy.

Then I smile so I feel it all over and off I go.

As the author of 'the future of body language' I am on a tour of speaking to promote the book right now in the UK. I find that imaging a successful outcome works for me. I imagine the audience clapping and then chatting to me after my talk, and of course, purchasing one of my books. So far it has been very successful. - the most important thing about being on stage is to stand tall and feel proud to be there. Be regal if you can in your thoughts and even imagine you are wearing a crown because this helps you stand erect. Research your audience which will give you more confidence too. Hope this helps.