How to improve your public speaking skills

Preparing my talk

Why should people listen?

Who's the target audience? What unique combination of skills or experiences can I bring to them? Does my talk contain live demos or videos of state-of-the-art technology? Am I sharing a personal and vulnerable story? Before getting your hands on PowerPoint, start with the story. The story should be told in 5–6 sentences without any visuals. If you draw inspiration from a folk tale, a movie, or a famous book, you'll find a setup, tension, and resolution that can serve as inspiration for your speech.

Once the story outline is made, carefully pick your visuals. While in a corporate setting more complex visuals with analytics are often desired, at a large conference it's often the opposite: limit yourself to only a few detailed graphs and offer a publication list or supplementary slides for the Q&A session or post-communication. You want people to want to reach out to you for more in-depth discussions.

It also makes sense to speak slower and mind your dialect: no matter the language you use, speaking clearly can help non-native speakers follow you—especially if you have a strong British English, South-of-France, or West-Austrian accent.

The audience is not necessarily as knowledgeable as you'd expect

...the event is not about you: it's about the audience's inspiration, growth, and takeaway messages.

We often tend to think people know more than they actually do: they may be familiar with certain frameworks but use different acronyms, definitions, or contexts. To bring everybody up to speed, avoid giving a dictionary-like vocabulary run-through (this is extremely boring, and you'll lose your audience). Instead, use humor, storytelling, and images to rephrase technical words without boring people who already know the content.

Don't immediately start with definitions. Rather, discuss the issue at large and why it matters, then dive into the technicalities. Even if the talk is meant to highlight your professionalism and intellect, in the end, the event is not about you: it's about the audience's inspiration, growth, and takeaway messages. Less is more.

Rocking the stage: voice, body language, and looks

How can I feel more confident in my speaking?

My main advice is to get involved at every opportunity: in university classes, at charity events, in your company—just volunteer to speak on adjacent topics, even if it is not a prestigious context, and you are not yet fully prepared.

Do a dry run. I often drag along my close friends to 20-minute Sunday Zoom calls where I test my speech and ask them for questions and feedback. Sometimes, the organizers may also offer to let you do a dry run and proofread your slides before the event.

Ask ChatGPT to grill you: copy-paste your speech into ChatGPT and generate a Q&A with a hostile crowd. Expecting the worst always helps you feel ready for audience quizzing.

How to remember my speech?

I like to record my talk as an audio note and listen to it in my headphones while running errands. It may sound odd, but I feel like something registers in my subconscious mind.

Listening to the talk 20 times in a row allows you to spot inconsistencies in your speech, sentences that are difficult to pronounce, or passages that you should reformulate or cut. Plus, it's like a fun memorization exercise (though it may drive you crazy).

In the few hours before the speech, I don’t rehearse anymore. I won’t deliver what I recorded word for word because something in the interaction with the crowd, the energy of the room, or a reference to what a previous speaker said will slightly change the flow. Staying flexible is key. Additionally, focusing too much on the exact words is the fastest way to sound completely unauthentic on stage. However, in case I totally blank, I can go back to my previously learned audio track: the voice note rehearsing acts as my safety net.

Unless you're really experienced with reading your teleprompter while delivering a compelling talk, do not write your full text on your teleprompter: it will only make you read words on the floor, and you'll be head down, completely disengaged from your audience. If you want to use it, write big, anchor words, that orient you on what part of the talk you are in, and make sure they are synchronized with your presentation.

How to dress for the D-day?

As much as you want to look fabulous, a comfortable and reliable outfit will do wonders. My slingback shoes snapped and broke 5 minutes before stepping on a livestreamed stage at a local Tedx - thankfully a friend with the same shoe size was sitting in the audience, so we could discreetly swap. Another anecdote in the hard lessons category: wearing white pants means they may get destroyed right before delivering a workshop - in my case, it took washing them in the sink in total panic, and drying them with a hair dryer to be stage-ready. To advert the inevitable, I personally don't eat after putting my clothes on, nothing worse than a dirty outfit being photographed from all angles for posterity. A pack of gummies, a cereal bar and some water will fuel me until the time of speaking. And for the ladies: bear in mind that on a large stage, opting for a hearworn mic (the one on your ear) means you may have to remove chunky earrings, mess with your hairstyle, and wear pants instead of a dress, if you'd like to avoid the transmitter pack to be oddly placed (often by a male technician). Choose wisely!

To stay in people's mind during a large event, many speakers like to wear a flashy suit or a recognizable accessory - making a visual mark in people's memories. Before doing this, contact the event organizer to double-check the dress code: sometimes, a more formal outfit is required. If you're filmed, ensure you avoid stripes, checkers, or other patterns that may create optical effects on the camera, and I can highly advise you to use translucent powder or oil blotting paper to avoid a shiny forehead and nose. This will not look like makeup, but as the temperature on stage is extremely warm due to projectors, it will control your face sweat and oils.

What to do if I am nervous before speaking?

Embrace the discomfort

You're nauseous, dizzy, and feel like your heart will explode? You need to use the bathroom 5 times before stepping on stage, you're sweating buckets, and all you want to do is run away? Congratulations: you're a performer!

More seriously, this feeling doesn’t always disappear with experience. In my case, I’ve learned to embrace it and even love it. It’s a sign that my body recognizes the significance of the moment. A thousand people have chosen to listen to me—my voice, stories, and visuals were worth their time, money, and effort.

But how can I be confident if my body is failing me? To stay grounded, step onto the stage, take a deep breath, look around, smile, and connect with your audience. You’re responsible for their experience now. Remind yourself that you’re talking about a subject you’re passionate about and bringing them a gift—the opportunity to share your enthusiasm. They understand you’re human. Messing up a few words or rephrasing yourself isn’t a big deal. What matters is that you’re prepared, passionate, and engaging.

Seek the discomfort

Go to karaoke when you're on holidays, and belt a Celine Dion song. You will never see these people again.

If you want to become fearless, push your boundaries in low-stakes environments. Go to karaoke when you're on holidays, and belt a Celine Dion song. You will never see these people again. Go to an obscure stand-up comedy open-mic under a pseudonym, and invite none of your friends. Be bad at it. Fail purposefully.

When your body learns that these experiences won’t cause long-term harm (except a bruised ego), you’ll approach conferences with ease.

Be Prepared to Cringe

After every project or public performance, I often feel terrible. I replay in my mind all the things I omitted and get frustrated by the body language of the audience. Most of the time, this has very little to do with you: perhaps you got an after-lunch or a 6 p.m. slot, or there are cultural differences at play depending on where you are performing (e.g., people chatting during your speech or exhibiting more closed body language).

You can try seeking feedback from participants by asking how you could improve your talk in the future, but sometimes, it’s better to wait a few weeks and watch the video. With time, you’ll gain a clearer perspective on what went wrong and how to improve. It's uncomfortable, I know: as a professional in the digital age, it’s important to make a conscious effort to get used to your voice and image.

To be honest, I still cringe when I hear or see myself—and I’m feeling some discomfort as I write this article. But the reviews are positive, and I get to meet so many people and hone my professional skills. So maybe, just maybe, it’s worth the cringe.

What are your best tips for public speaking?