Here's how you can effectively prepare and rehearse for important public speaking events.

To be an effective public speaker, you need to be able to adapt. I love a socratic format - raise a question and engage with the audience. But to do that, you must be comfortable enough with the material. Read about the topic, issues adjacent to the topic and limitations thereof.

The fear of audience can be overcome through knowledge about the subject you are speaking on. You can not carry the audience on half cooked information. You should develop the skill to have your point of view on information you posses. If you stuck during the speech your own analysis will sail you through the platform. Point driven public speaking with blend of confidence on your own thought process is the key to overcome any fear for that matter. But one thing is sure that in public speaking eye contact and confidence is the key tool to succeed.

One thing I have found very helpful just prior to speaking is to find a quiet spot, practice controlled breathing and envision the audience in a standing ovation as you finish! This is always a confidence builder in my mind and makes me feel unstoppable. I also try to be sure that I am well hydrated and have had a small bit of food to calm the stomach. I feel if you are not a little nervous, you are not taking your opportunity as serious as you should. Additionally, I like to either tape myself delivering the message, watch back and critique and on occasion, I have a trusted member of my personal B.O.D watch and critique me on places I can improve. Either will help you gain confidence in the delivery.

1. Accept that you're nervous and do it anyway—courage means being nervous and doing things anyway. Trick: Tell the audience that you're nervous at the start, it helps and makes you instantly relatable. 2. Prepare a script of your main ideas and rehearse it, focusing on transitions between ideas. The transitions will save you if/when you're stuck and need to move on. 3. Make the materials yours. Add your personality/humour/sadness/anecdotes, doesn't matter as long as a human comes through it will resonate. 4. Use ujjayi breathing as you rehearse and present until it becomes natural, it calms the nervous system. 5. Shower, dress comfy.

When considering your audience, please note that it’s not just about obvious demographics (which may also be important), but also consider: is this an expert audience, who’s already familiar and understands your topic? Or is this more of a novice audience? Preparing your talking points with that distinction in mind helps inform things like, whether it’s ok to use acronyms, how much detail (i. e in the weeds) is really necessary or is it better to keep it “high level”, etc. If your audience requires context, is there a way to deliver that information succinctly or in a more creative way that won’t lead you down an unintended rabbit-hole that deters from your message? These are all specific ideas to consider regarding your audience.

As a presenter, you want people to listen to you. You want them to understand what you’re saying and remember a few things you’ve said. Presenters must speak the language of the audience in order for all of these things to happen. So, doing a little background research on the intended and expected audience is essential. It helps you know what to expect and helps you give them what they expected.

To understand your audience, you first have to find ways to listen to what your audience wants to hear. In other words, find out what they like, what they want to hear and how they want to hear it. Go to other events that they also attend and research how to use your material to benefit them best. AI is a useful tool.

Before delivering any presentation, do your best to understand and connect with your audience. Knowing who you are speaking to will largely impact how you communicate to them. If you’re speaking to a crowd and have the opportunity to do so, meet a few people you’ll be presenting to beforehand. This helps personalize the audience and gives you a point of reference with the person you’ve met. You can even personalize what you say based on the interaction with the audience members. It also helps you as a presenter feel less like you’re speaking to a room full of strangers. Knowing your audience has so many added benefits!

The same presentation can have totally different impact on 2 different audiences. Study your audience, their profession, demographics, their desires, common challenges and more importantly, their common verbiage. Speak in the words that they understand and appreciate. While speaking to bunch of college students, you examples & metaphors you give will be totally different that the ones you give while speaking to C-suite executives.

The second time we say something aloud, it's half as long and twice as good. Practice aloud before you're ready. You'll stumble and struggle in your first run-through. That's okay. When you practice aloud for the second time, you'll be shorter, sharper and more confident.

Record and review! Although it may feel cringey, recording yourself as you practice your material is beneficial. Listening back allows you to identify unintentional filler words, such as "um," "like," and "you know" (my top offenders). These fillers can distract from your message and undermine your authority. But by becoming aware of them, you can work on reducing their frequency.

Consider engaging the audience in a storytelling fashion. Just presenting the content as a simple lecture can be perceived as boring and predictable. If you add a theme, plot and some twists and turns your audience will be more engaged and remember the content and the presenter much better. You can also add (applicable) personal anecdotes to heighten the audience's interest even further.

You cannot get rid of the butterflies, but you can teach them how to fly in formation! Easier said than done, right? Yet, it points to two important aspects of pre-performance anxiety management. One, you cannot, and, I would argue, should not get rid of it. It’s your heart telling you that you care. Two, there’s always a way to manage these situations. My go to strategy is to reconnect to my core. If I ask myself why I am doing it - why I am putting myself through the prep, the tension, the adrenaline rush - nine times out of ten it’s because it’s something that I am passionate about, that I want to share and brings me joy. This reframing serves as a grounding force, transforming nervous energy into a source of strength and poise.

Absolutely! Feeling nervous before speaking in public is completely normal, and embracing that adrenaline that floods your body can actually be a natural performance enhancing drug. When you lean into the eustress (the good kind of stress), it can sharpen your focus, give you stamina, and boost your strength. Rather than running from the distress, learn to channel it properly. However, mismanaged, that same energy can lead to flight or freeze responses. But with the right mindset and techniques, you can harness it to enhance your performance and make your message resonate even more. So, next time you're prepping to speak, remember that adrenaline is your ally.

Pour gérer votre stress, une solution efficace est de revoir sa conception de l’événement. Vous pensez que vous livrez une prestation qui sera jugée par un public ? Vous vous mettez d’emblée dans une situation anxiogène. Considérez davantage votre présentation comme un moment de partage propice à la création d’une relation privilégiée avec chaque membre de l’audience. Faites I participer le public. Créez un collectif dont vous serez l’animateur !

Visual aids are a great way to help fully engage your audience, and also help you get back on track if you've wandered. But they should serve only as a prompt for the speaker to elaborate naturally on a topic. Don't just read them verbatum as that will put the focus on the visuals and not on you, the speaker. Again, this is where "Knowing Your Material" is key. You should be able to give a few sentences on any visual prompt or aid you are using, without more than a glance at the screen. Looking at your audience while you speak is what keeps them engaged.

Visual aids are important, particularly for visual learners, but ensure they are succinct! Cluttered slides can distract people from what you are saying, ensure your visual aids align with the words you are delivering.

This requires balance. While visual aids can be done exceedingly well, they risk making the presentation one-dimensional when a speaker merely reads the contents of a slide. Good visual aids complement and amplify the speaker, they do not replace them.

One thing I’ve found helpful is understanding the importance of preparation. There will always be audibles that have to be called, but you can do your best to be prepared and know your topic inside and out.

Know the venue or get help from the house staff if you are touring and going from venue to venue. Roll with the punches if there is any disruption, uncontrolled noise, or hecklers. Ability to think on your feet and still deliver a useful message sets you far above people who are well-rehearsed and unable to respond to unsettling situations.

Sometimes the venue, environment, or audience's attentiveness can spark the speaker's intuitive interactions, hence better audience engagement. Familiarizing the space beforehand (best with person-in-charge) can generate confidence & instill calm energy for the speaker to deliver the best speech ??

Muy importante estas recomendaciones, también es conveniente preparar plan b y c, ante posibles fallas tecnicas en la presentación.

Always remember that the audience connects not just to the content of what you share but also to you as a person. Share stories and show your humanity so people hear the “you” behind the “what”.

Stay calm and be yourself. The fact that you have been invited to speak at am important public speaking event, means that you are doing something right, even if you are representing someone else, it means that that person trusts you enough to represent them appropriately, so don't try to be anyone else but yourself. Let your personality shine through. Relax, pace yourself and focus on what you know about the subject matter, don't dabble into areas you don't have a grasp about. Focus on what you know and can speak freely and you will find that your presentation will go smoothly like a breeze.

It’s also key to share stories that can help you relate to the audience and importantly help the audience retain the information you are sharing more easily. You’re speaking for the purpose of educating. So a little ‘edu-tainment’ goes a long way for mutual enjoyment of your speaking engagement.