I was wondering if anyone had any tips for public speaking?
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What I do, is just focus on someone I know, and talk directly to them.  dont read off a paper or anything and remember to shift your eyes around the room while still focusing on that person when u feel nervous.
451779
Concentrate on what you have to say\nand not how you think you look saying it.\nPRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.  When you\nbegin, like a pitcher on the mound,\ntake a breath, and put everything into\nthe delivery.  Think ONLY about what you\nhave to say and try to say it as sincerely\nas you can without overdoing voice or \ngestures.  Look at the audience, but only\nto convince them.  And just like a pitcher\non the mound, the more you do it, the easier\nit gets.
197679
PRACTICE.\n\nI recommend doing a mock presentation and making sure you have everything down exactly as you want it, including timing, eye contact, etc.\n\nAlso if you want a long term improvement, you should join ToastMasters, an organization that will help you in this department. Try: http://www.toastmasters.org/
1099092
clearly, you have to speak well. No horible accents or lips or anything. Also, you cant be shy.Public speaking is not for the faint of hear.\nLastly, it helps if you a) loveable or b) hot.
440590
The best way to improve is to practice.  I second the person who said to join Toastmasters (www.toastmasters.org).  I was in it for six years and it helped me immensely.  I miss it.\n\nWhen I was in grad school I put together a silly little site with some specific tips.  They are the same things I would tell you here, so you may want to take a look at it.  I promise it will not try to sell you anything, except for the normal Lycos ads.\n\nThe address is: http://stevefournier01.tripod.com/tips/tips-index.html\n\ngood luck.
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The best thing you can do is PRACTICE.  Write an outline on a couple notecards -- that are the major points of your speech.  Remember those points - and you will be able to talk freely on the topic.  But really, just practice what you need to say - and it will go smooth.
573572
good luck, power point presentations are about the most broing thing ever.  try to make your speech more exciting so you're not just reading slides.  nothing is more boring then that and people feel like you wasted their time.
890104
How To Prepare and Oral Presentation\n\nACCORDING TO SPEAKING CONSULTANT Lilyan Wilder (1999), two of the greatest myths about delivering oral presentations are that you're better off "winging it" and that good speakers are "naturals."\n\nIn order to give an effective presentation, it is necessary to prepare and practice, practice, practice. Despite the need to prepare, one of your goals still should be to sound spontaneous and comfortable while delivering your message in a clear, organized, and stimulating fashion. The information below should help you achieve this goal:\nFIRST STEPS\n\nThere are a few steps you need to take before writing your presentation, including thinking about who your audience is, what the expectations for the speech are, and selecting an appropriate topic.\n\nResearching the topic\nIf you are presenting something that you've already written, then this step won't require much work. Otherwise, you'll need to follow the same procedures as with writing and narrowing down your topic for a research paper.\n\nOrganizing and writing the speech\nThis requires a different approach than writing a research paper.\n\nPracticing the speech and handling logistics\nThere are a number of details to prepare for in advance of delivering your presentation.\n\nPhrasing the speech\nA presentation requires different language and phrasing than a written document. A presentation is a dialogue. It should sound natural and be somewhat conversational.\n\nManaging your stage fright\nIf you are shy, or unaccustomed to talking to a group of people, there are things you can do to make yourself less anxious.\n\nVisual aids\n\nThe big event\nIt's important to present yourself and your material in a polished, yet comfortable, fashion. If you've followed the ideas listed above, it should be a successful experience.\n\nWeb sites of Interest\nWe have identified a number of Web sites offering information about preparing oral presentations and related issues.\n\nReferences\nPRELIMINARY STEPS FOR PREPARING AN ORAL PRESENTATION\n\nAnalyzing the situation\n\nBefore you decide on a topic for your speech, it's important to think about how to make your presentation interesting to your teacher and classmates. This may sound obvious, but have you looked at the material that you've covered so far in class? How could you relate what you want to say to what's already been taught? Relating your material to information your audience is already familiar with will not only demonstrate to the teacher that you've been paying attention, it will also help your classmates understand and remember your points.\n\nExample: If you've examined a particular novelist in your literature class, you may want to refer to that novelist again in your talk on literary styles.\n\nKnow how much time you have, how loudly you will need to speak for your classmates to hear you, and how many people will be in the audience. These facts will help determine the depth of your talk, the visual aids you can use, and the environment for your presentation.\n\nChoosing a topic and a focus\nChoose a topic that not only excites you, but one about which you either are an expert or can become one. You may not have a choice about your topic, but regardless of the subject, you still make decisions about what direction you're going to take. Try to relate your topic to current issues, whether they are happening at your school, in your city, or in the world. Timeliness can make a presentation more interesting to your audience.\nIn order to focus on a topic, follow these steps:\n\nDetermine your general goal, e.g., to talk about recycling in the city.\n\n    Develop a precise objective, e.g., to instruct people about the recycling facilities and programs in the city of Chicago.\n\n    Develop a precise objective, e.g., to instruct people about the recycling facilities and programs in the city of Chicago.\n\n    Develop a one-senten
36141
Well, a good topic for public speaking would be the problems facing the world at the moment with a possible bird flu (avian flu)pandemic and the shortage of fresh water. Either of those topics would be interesting. Good luck.
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Here are a few tips:\n\nTo speak clearly, use complete words, like "Yes," instead of "Yeah" or "Mmm-hmmm."\n\nRepeat a question before you answer it.  This helps to clarify that you understand a person's question before you answer the question.\n\nExample: \n\n**Other person says, "Do you have any clips?"\n\n**Then, you repeat their question to clarify, "Are you looking for paper clips?"\n\n**This will help them clarify, \n"Yes," \nor... \n"No, I'm looking for hair clips."\nor.. \n"No, I'm looking for CHIPS."\n\n\n\nUse phrases like "please" and "thank you."  This helps you to appear friendly and polite.\n\nIf you must put a person on hold, don't just say, "hold on," or "hang on," say:\n\n"May I put you on hold for a moment?" or\n"Can you hold, please?"\n\nSmile while you speak.  This can be heard in your voice, and people will be more patient with you if you sound happy.\n\nAllow the other person to stop speaking before you start speaking.  If you must interrupt, do so by saying, "Ma'am?" or "Sir?" before you start speaking over the other person.\n\nPractice a lot.  Speak on the phone as much as you can.  Also, when you have free time, try to listen to other people speaking on the phone, as long as they don't mind you doing so.  I've learned a lot about communication just by observing other people at work speaking with clients.\n\nIf you are still in need of better communication skills, I suggest taking a speech/communications class.  This can help in many situations, phone or otherwise.
367681
First off, be current on any and all info in the news, around town, in the media, etc. Look for the irony in things, stories, comments or anything. Look at everything in and about life from many different perspectives and capitolize on the humor in it. Once you get enough material then work on your presentation and delivery. If you are comfortable with that then next try it out in a club on open mike night. Good luck!
617413
LOTS of preparation is needed.  \n\nFirst, know your topic back to front so that you don't have to memorize what you're going to say.\n\nPlan out what you'll speak about and when.  Outline the whole thing. \n\nUse visual aids, like power point or old fashioned tables and charts.  But, be prepared should something fail.\n\nTry to involve your audience.  However you can.\n\nPretend you're talking to friends.  Most people want to be interested if you'll bring them in.  Smile and think happy thoughts.  And smile.  Oh yeah, also, smile. ^_^\n\nDon't let the numbers scare you.  Presenting for 400 is the same as presenting for 30, 'cept you might need a microphone to be heard in the back!\n\nGood luck, have fun!
1126823
There are some great books to read... go to borders or amazon and search for motivational books... or books on public speaking... also classes are great too - b/c they give you experience speaking in front of others.\n\nAlso, you can work with a speaker, as an assistant... or attend speaker's sessions to see how they do it...
44983
i've been speaking in front of groups for 25 years.  What works best for me are:\n\n  - Practice speech ahead of time\n  - Always use questions in talks (brings audience into presentation)\n\nIf this is not a formal presentation, and you're just meeting some people for networking, I always practice ahead of time points of discussion.  I usually avoid politics and religion.\n  Fair game are sports, what do you do for a living?, do you have children?  I use a little mnemonic\n\n  F - family (have kids?  what does spouse do?)\n  O - occupation (what do u do for living?)\n  R - recreation (what do u do for fun?  tennis?...)\n  M - motivation (what excites you?  movies? ...)\n\ngood luck\nted
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If you've been in the class for any amount of time, you should know at least SOME of the people in it.  Therefore, I suggest a combination of two previous suggestions (plus a couple extras):\n1) rehearse with a small group of people that you know watching you.\n2) before the speech, don't drink too much coffee (increases the shaking and the sweaty palms)\n3) take note of where the people you know are seated, and move your eyes from one to the next for the length of your presentation.
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There are many questions for you to answer before I can answer yours, such as:\n\nWhat is the speech for? Who is the audience? How long should it be?\n\nThat being said, pick something that is meaningful to you. You shouldn't be too casual, but let some of yourself shine through, your achievements as well as your struggles. Honesty, sincerity and humor really make for a good speech.
212087
Nearly the most important thing to the content of your speech is that you speak slowly and as clearly as you possibly can.  Also, stand up nice & straight and don't fidget or sloch. Try to project your answer all the way to the back of the room.  Try to use words such as "like" or "um" as little as you possibly can.  Good luck - you'll do great!