The Art of Speaking

One of the most terrifying things we can face is standing in front of others and conduct a speech or presentation. While we are comfortable at speaking to friends or even in a one on one conversation when you are are the center of a room full of people, we begin to worry about it. We begin to stutter, hiccup, over even get the overwhelming urge to run away and hide in a corner. Then we start to worry about judgment or, even worse, questions from the audience. The bottom line is that speaking in front of any audience is kinda nerve-wracking, but here are some tips.

1. Don't believe those who tell you to picture your audience in their underwear. When trying to concentrate on your words, why in the heck should your brain focus on anything else? Ignore this advice at all costs; it was probably written by a screenwriter. 
2. Before you get to the stage, take your entire speech, and make sure you know bullet points or keywords in the order you want. For example, within your five-page address, for each sentence or paragraph, memorize trigger words or phrases so once, spoken, they will help you remember the rest of what you wrote.
3. Before you speak, I also found it easy to recite lyrics to my favorite song. It helps me because if I can remember lyrics, I can remember what I am going to say.
4. The hardest part is beginning your speech. Even it is the most challenging thing, smile. Sometimes, I will thank the audience for having the opportunity to speak in front of them. Have a salutation mind. "Good (insert time of day). I want to thank you for being here, and I want to take some time to talk about..."
5. If you get nervous because people are looking at you, look at the top of people's heads and begin on your weak side (left if right-handed or visa versa) and then slowly move to the opposite side. The idea behind this is typically we will look to the side we favor, and therefore, as you get more comfortable moving our head, we will get stronger in what we are saying. 
6. If you feel like you are getting stuck, then think of something that you love. Pause breathe in and continue. Sometimes when I stutter, I turn my head and visualize to get back on track.
7. If there is a Q&A portion of your speech, this can be tough. If provided questions ahead of time, stick to your guns. It is wise to appeal to the opposite and acknowledge what was said. However, add a counterpoint such as, "I see what you are saying, however..."
8. When you are asked a question, you can reply with a positive such as, "That is a good question," or, "I like that question." When you do that, you provide yourself valuable time to formulate your response. 
9. Sometimes, people want to rattle your cage by asking stupid questions. If you are not sure what the question or you totally know it is a stupid one, ask for clarification. "Thank you for your question, can you please clarify what you mean?" Another tactic I use is, "I really want to answer you, can you please expand on what you want to know?"
10. If you are not an expert at it, do not ad-lib at all. It takes away from your point and people know a tap dance when they see one.

At the end of the day, when public speaking, it is all about making your point without being adversarial. It is about painting a picture of your views and your vision using brilliant colors and not crayons.