Brief and practical tips for public speaking

Six years ago the thought of standing on a stage to give a talk made me physically ill. Six years later and 30 times on stage giving a talk, it still actually does make me physically ill but not to such a severe degree that it did then.

One of my friends is back in school and had to give a presentation to her professors, so she asked me for some tips. Also, in case anyone needs proof that you can overcome your fear of public speaking, I once dropped out of a class at the start of the semester in university because the thought of having to do the final presentation caused me such severe anxiety. Eek.

Nerves are actually a good thing - it means you care. Lean into the nerves but also learn how to manage them. But there's also beta blockers if you really need the extra help.

Tip: Practice Makes Perfect #

The first conference talk I gave was 20 minutes long. I wrote my talk and went through it every single day for 3-4 months up until the event. I don't do this length of preparation anymore, but I still practice my talk a few times before the main event.

• It helps me find spots that don't flow well or have bumpy transitions.
• It helps me identify what part of my content I don't know well enough.

You can never practice too many times in my opinion AND it's going to make your delivery more confident. Practice practice practice.

Tip: Use Speaker Notes #

I sometimes feel like speaker notes are looked down upon. "If you're a REAL speaker, you don't need notes" - well, no. Stop right there. I use speaker notes in every one of my talks. I require them because my brain likes to play this fun trick on me when I get up on stage, and it completely blanks. Doesn't matter how many times I've practiced. It is the way my brain is wired and probably some anxiety response.

I believe access to speaker notes is an accessibility issue too. If you were to only have people who can speak without access to their notes at your event - your pool of speakers is going to be so small and not diverse.

Use your speaker notes to also remind yourself to slow down and breathe. You're probably speaking more quickly than you realize (me, always).

Tip: Slow down and breathe #

What I said above. You are probably speaking faster than you realize, slow down, take a breath, take a pause. Instead of saying "uhm" - just take a breath instead.

Tip: If you stumble, don't apologize #

If you stumble over your words, don't apologize for it and interrupt your own flow. The audience isn't going to remember if you just compose yourself and keep talking. I sometimes have difficulty saying words. If I have written a tongue twister, I sort of poke fun at myself and make an exasperated face while repeating what I meant to say. You're also human. We stumble over things sometimes. No need to apologize for being human on stage.

No one is there waiting for you to fail or stumble (and if someone is, they can get in the bin). The audience is on your side and wants to see you succeed.

Tip: Ask yourself why you're nervous #

If I feel overly anxious, I always ask myself what is the worst that could happen? And then say to myself, ok and what are you going to do if that happens? And lead myself down a path "and then what will you do after that?" until my nerves have calmed down.

Pursuing speaking #

Finally, this is kind of a tip and general advice. I think it's important to know why you want to pursue speaking. Is it a personal goal to get over a fear of it? Do you want to be able to travel? Do you enjoy educating others? Is it a part of your job? What's your end goal?

This is going to help you say no to opportunities that may not align with your goals. Speaking can be rewarding, but for some, myself included, it can be incredibly exhausting as well. I no longer enjoy speaking at 6 track conferences & also prioritize events that understand how time-consuming it is to prepare a talk for an event. I used to say yes to every event that came my way, but my mental health is worth more. I also want attendees to get the best version of me when I'm up there.

I have come a long long way since 2018. I'm still an introvert but I enjoy speaking and storytelling. I hope some of these tips help you on your public speaking journey.