Confidence

　　Faith in yourself, your topic, and your general sanity is a must ifyou are to be a better public speaker. Many speakers are not prepared and lose confidence because of that. But others lack confidence becauseof the high school bully factor. They are afraid of being judged -- and possibly made fun of -- just like they were in high school speech class when they sweated profusely and peed a little. Yes, that's the matureworld we live in. Build your confidence by utilizing all your tools and knowing that you are the cock of the public speaking walk. Read on.。。

　　Know what's up

　　You have to know your topic inside and out. Nothing kills your speech like "um" and "uh" littering every sentence. Research your subject to the point where you are an expert -- or at least not abumbling idiot. You were likely picked to make this speech because youknow remotely something about the topic, so that's half the battle. Now get in there and learn every facet of the beast. Your speech will becrap if you half-ass it and your audience will start throwing rotten tomatoes at you. Well, they could if they wanted. We would。

　　Practice

　　Researching and knowing your topic is one thing, but actually delivering that information is a whole different ball of wax. When the lights go down and the spotlight is on you, no matter how much you know your topic, conveying the information suddenly seems daunting.Practicing your speech beforehand is a must. You will find your beats,your direction, and where to drop the F-bombs, through hours in front of the mirror rehearsing your own personal Gettysburg Address. So when you climb up on stage, it will be like riding a bike. Unless you don'tknow how to ride a bike。

　　Dress properly

　　This is a two parter. Of course, You will want to dressap propriately for the occasion -- which could be a suit or simply acasual ensemble you picked up at K Mart. Regardless of the dress code,you will want to make sure it also has the comfort you need. If theoutfit is too binding, tight, stiff, whatever, it will be distractingto you and take away the concentration on your speech. If a suit is called for, get one that you can maneuver in easily and isn't allitchy. We hate itchy。

　　Loosen up

　　Being uptight and stiff before you hit the stage will translate in astrained voice and someone who is obviously a nervous wreck. Do somespeech exercises before you begin. You know, stuff like "the tip of thetongue, the teeth, the lips" repeated over-and-over. It will free your throat and loosen your tongue (that's what she said). Also do some stretches to loosen your muscles. Your back, shoulders, and legs inparticular need loosening. By the time you arrive at the podium, you'll be as relaxed as the dudes who live in the Volkswagen Van at your local Blockbuster parking lot。

　　Make connections

　　Strictly delivering your goods is getting the job done, no doubt,but what separates the men from the public speaking boys is thepersonal touch. Making a personal connection with someone in theaudience. It might be someone you know that you can call out to, orsomeone on the front row you can speak directly to. Maybe your speechleads you to ask them a question, which is an easy way for you to takeyourself from the stage and place yourself as one of your audience. Italso takes pressure off of you. If your material does not really allowfor audience questions, make eye contact when possible. Because eventhough you are the one on stage, you're still a man of the people,right?

　　Be Robin Williams

　　You may not be naturally funny. In fact, you may be the antithesisof funny -- as in, you suck funny from other people who happen to befunny. You get the picture. While we are not suggesting you becomeGeorge Carlin(his humor, not his living status)， we absolutely insistyou arm yourself with a joke or two to keep it light -- assuming yourspeech does not deal with world hunger and such. Have a friend who hasa sense of humor look over your speech and suggest some punch lines youcan use. Or at least google some funny bits you can implement into yourtalky-talk。