Ten Tips for Public Speaking

Gabriela Müller Mendoza, Toastmasters Club of Berne, Switzerland

May, 2006


Are you wondering how you should conduct your next important presentation or speech? Consider these hints!


  1. Know the needs of your audience. Match your contents to their needs. Ensure your speech will be captivating to your audience as well as worth their time and attention..

  2. How you are being perceived is very important. When you are presenting in front of an audience, you are like an actor on stage - it really is a performance. How you are being perceived is very important. Dress appropriately for the occasion. Present the image you desire to your audience. Look pleasant, enthusiastic, confident, proud, but not arrogant. Remain calm. Appear relaxed, even if you feel nervous. Establish rapport with your audience. In public speaking we call this, to “break the ice”.
    Speak to the person farthest away from you to ensure your voice is loud enough to project to the back of the room. Vary the tone of your voice, and dramatize if necessary. Speak with conviction as if you really believe in what you are saying. Persuade your audience effectively

  3. Body language is crucial. Standing, walking or moving about, with appropriate gestures or facial expression is much preferable to sitting or standing still.Head down and reading from a prepared speech is the worst you can do! Use audio or visual aids or props to enhance the effect, if they are appropriate.

  4. Eye contact. Maintain sincere contact with your audience. Use your eye contact to make everyone in your audience feel involved. Use the 3-second rule: look straight into the eyes of a person for 3 seconds at a time. Have this direct contact with a number of people in the audience, and every now and then glance at the whole audience while speaking.

  5. Humor. Add humor whenever possible, but keep it appropriate. Remember that using humor is not the same as telling jokes - be aware of sensitive topics or questionable style. Keep the audience interested throughout your entire presentation. An interesting speech makes time fly, but a boring speech is always too long - even if the presentation time is the same.

  6. Visual Aids. Make sure you check the equipment ahead of time - seating arrangements and viewing for audience, location of projection screen, whiteboard and pens, lighting, sound system, etc. Avoid tools such as Power Point, you yourself are your best visual aid!

  7. Logical structure. Know your material thoroughly. Put what you have to say in a logical sequence. The material you present orally should have the same ingredients as that which are required for a written research paper, that is: a logical progression from INTRODUCTION (a thesis statement) to BODY (strong supporting arguments, accurate and relevant information) to CONCLUSION (re-state thesis, summary, and logical conclusion). If possible avoid reading from notes for any extended length of time, although it is quite acceptable to glance at your notes infrequently. If you made an error, correct it, and continue. There is no need to make excuses or apologize profusely.

  8. Pause frequently. Allow yourself and your audience a little time to reflect and think. Don't race through your presentation and leave your audience, as well as yourself, feeling out of breath. If you ask questions to your audience, give them time to think of an answer (except when your rhetorical question needs none). If you use powerful punch lines, then make a pause, let your words sink in, before going on.

  9. Be prepared. Practice and rehearse your speech at home or where you can be at ease and comfortable, in front of a mirror, your family, friends or colleagues. If you are short of time, know what can be safely left out. If you have extra time, have something prepared which you can add. Be prepared for the unexpected. Remember that communication is the key to a successful presentation.

  10. Watch your time. Make sure you have a way to keep an eye on the time. Summarize on time, and make sure you can deliver your powerful and appropriate punch line at the end. Do not overemphasize your closing remarks by repetition. “Thank you” should not be your last words!. Your audience will remember your last sentence. Leave your listeners with a positive impression and a sense of completion.

Enjoy your own presentation! After all, fun is also part of public speaking.