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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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Public Speaking and Presentations: Tips for Success

This resource includes tips and suggestions for improving your public speaking skills.

Even if you’ve never spoken in front of a large group before, chances are you will encounter public speaking sometime during your life. Whether you’re giving a presentation for your classmates or addressing local politicians at a city council meeting, public speaking allows you to convey your thoughts and feelings in clear ways. Having the right tools can prepare you for successful public speaking and equip you with high-quality communication skills.

Know Your Audience

Different audiences require different modes of public speaking. How you address a room full of preschoolers will vary from how you address a group of professors at an academic conference. Not only will your vocabulary change, but you might alter your pacing and tone as well.

Knowing your audience also helps you decide the content of your speech. For example, if you’re presenting research to a group of scientists, you might not need to define all your scientific language. However, if you present that same research to a group of individuals who are unfamiliar with your scientific field, you may need to define your terms or use simpler language.

Recognizing the extent to which your audience is familiar with your topic helps you center your presentation around the most important elements and avoid wasting time on information your audience either 1) already knows or 2) does not need to know for the purpose of your speech.

Knowing your audience also means tailoring your information to them. Try to keep things straight and to the point; leave out extraneous anecdotes and irrelevant statistics.

Establish Your Ethos and Feel Confident in Your Subject

It’s important to let your audience know what authority you have over your subject matter. If it’s clear you are familiar with your subject and have expertise, your audience is more likely to trust what you say.

Feeling confident in your subject matter will help establish your ethos. Rather than simply memorizing the content on your PowerPoint slides or your note cards, consider yourself a “mini expert” on your topic. Read up on information related to your topic and anticipate questions from the audience. You might want to prepare a few additional examples to use if people ask follow-up questions. Being able to elaborate on your talking points will help you stay calm during a Q & A section of your presentation.

Stick to a Few Main Points

Organizing your information in a logical way not only helps you keep track of what you’re saying, but it helps your audience follow along as well. Try to emphasize a few main points in your presentation and return to them before you conclude. Summarizing your information at the end of your presentation allows your audience to walk away with a clear sense of the most important facts.

For example, if you gave a presentation on the pros and cons of wind energy in Indiana, you would first want to define wind energy to make sure you and your audience are on the same page. You might also want to give a brief history of wind energy to give context before you go into the pros and cons. From there, you could list a few pros and a few cons. Finally, you could speculate on the future of wind energy and whether Indiana could provide adequate land and infrastructure to sustain wind turbines. To conclude, restate a few of the main points (most likely the pros and cons) and end with the most important takeaway you want the audience to remember about wind energy in Indiana.

Don't be Afraid to Show Your Personality

Delivering information without any sort of flourish or style can be boring. Allowing your personality to show through your speaking keeps you feeling relaxed and natural. Even if you’re speaking about something very scientific or serious, look for ways to let your personality come through your speech.

For example, when Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek announced in March of 2019 that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer, he still let his trademark dignity and professionalism set the tone for his address. He began his announcement by saying “it’s in keeping with my long-time policy of being open and transparent with our Jeopardy! fan base.” Later, he joked that he would need to overcome his illness in order to fulfill his contract, whose terms required him to host the show for three more years. Though the nature of Trebek's announcement could easily have justified a grim, serious tone, the host instead opted to display the charm that has made him a household name for almost thirty-five years. In doing so, he reminded his audience precisely why he is so well-loved.

Use Humor (When Appropriate)

Using humor at appropriate moments can keep your audience engaged and entertained. While not all occasions are appropriate for humor, look for moments where you can lighten the mood and add some humor.

For example, just two months after the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, Reagan was in the middle of giving a speech when a balloon loudly popped while he was speaking. Reagan paused his speech to say “missed me,” then immediately continued speaking. This off-the-cuff humor worked because it was appropriate, spontaneous, and did not really distract from his message.

Similarly, at the end of his final White House Correspondents Dinner, Barack Obama concluded his speech by saying “Obama out” and dropping the mic. Once again, the humor did not distract from his message, but it did provide a light-hearted shift in his tone.  

Don't Let Visual Aids Distract From Your Presentation

Visual aids, such as PowerPoints or handouts, often go alongside presentations. When designing visual aids, be sure they do not distract from the content of your speech. Having too many pictures or animations can cause audience members to pay more attention to the visuals rather than what you’re saying.

However, if you present research that relies on tables or figures, having many images may help your audience better visualize the research you discuss. Be aware of the ways different types of presentations demand different types of visual aids.

Be Aware of Your Body Language

When it comes to giving a presentation, nonverbal communication is equally as important as what you’re saying. Having the appropriate posture, gestures, and movement complement the spoken element of your presentation. Below are a few simple strategies to make you appear more confident and professional.

Having confident posture can make or break a presentation. Stand up straight with your shoulders back and your arms at your sides. Slouching or crossing your arms over your chest makes you appear smaller and more insecure. However, be sure you’re not too rigid. Just because you’re standing up tall does not mean you cannot move around.

Eye contact

Making eye contact with your audience not only makes them feel connected to you but it also lets you gauge their response to you. Try to look around the room and connect with different audience members so you’re not staring at the same people the whole time. If you notice your audience starting to nod off, it might be a good time to change your tone or up your energy. 

Avoid distracting or compulsive gestures

While hand gestures can help point out information in a slide or on a poster, large or quick gestures can be distracting. When using gestures, try to make them feel like a normal part of your presentation.

It’s also easy to slip into nervous gestures while presenting. Things like twirling your hair or wringing your hands can be distracting to your audience. If you know you do something like this, try to think hard about not doing it while you’re presenting.

Travel (if possible)

If you are presenting on a stage, walking back and forth can help you stay relaxed and look natural. However, be sure you’re walking slowly and confidently and you’re using an appropriate posture (described above). Try to avoid pacing, which can make you appear nervous or compulsive.

Rehearse (if Possible)

The difference between knowing your subject and rehearsing comes down to how you ultimately present your information. The more you rehearse, the more likely you are to eliminate filler words such as like and um . If possible, try practicing with a friend and have them use count the filler words you use. You can also record yourself and play back the video. The more you rehearse, the more confident you will feel when it comes time to actually speak in front of an audience.

Finally, Relax!

Although public speaking takes time and preparation, perhaps one of the most important points is to relax while you’re speaking. Delivering your information in a stiff way prevents you from appearing natural and letting your personality come through. The more relaxed you feel, the more confident your information will come across.

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What is Public Speaking?

Public speaking is the art of effectively delivering information, ideas, or messages to an audience. It involves confident communication, engaging presentation skills, and the ability to connect with listeners. Read the blog on What is Public Speaking and learn how this skill enhances your presence and sets you apart in diverse public settings.

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People who often address a large crowd for presentation or even for entertainment, must possess certain skills to make good first impression on their audience. This is where Public Speaking skills come in, and every speaker must know What is Public Speaking to make a greater impact.

Public Speaking is an art of effectively and efficiently delivering  speeches or presentations to inform, persuade, or entertain an audience. It is an exceptional skill to possess because it has the power to inspire and influence others. A skilled public speaker has the ability to leave a lasting impact on the audience by delivering their message with confidence, clarity, and conviction.  If you also want to make an impact, then read this blog, to learn everything about What is Public Speaking and how to set yourself apart from the crowd.

Table of Contents

1) Understanding What is Public Speaking?

2) Importance of Public Speaking

3) How to build confidence for Public Speaking?

4) Real-life examples of Public Speaking

5) Conclusion

Understanding What is Public Speaking?

Public Speaking is the act of talking to a group of people. It involves standing in front of an audience and delivering a message or sharing information to entertain or educate them. The goal is to effectively communicate and engage the listeners.

Public Speaking can take place in different settings, like meetings, presentations, or events. It requires good communication skills, clear expression, and confidence in delivering the message. The purpose can vary, such as informing, persuading, or entertaining the audience. It is a valuable skill that you can learn and practice to effectively convey your ideas and connect with others.  

Importance of Public Speaking

Public Speaking is avoided by many people due to fear or shyness. However, it's a skill that shouldn't be overlooked. Throughout history, Public Speaking has played a significant role in different walks of life. It  has a unique power to inform, persuade, educate, and entertain.  

Improving your Public Speaking skills can benefit you in various areas of life. For instance, it boosts confidence and enhances research and deductive reasoning abilities. It allows you to effectively advocate for causes you believe in. These skills are valuable for small business owners and students alike.

Businesses can greatly benefit from Public Speaking as it helps them market their products or services. By delivering compelling speeches, they can reach potential customers and convey their messages effectively. Salespeople and executives are often expected to possess strong Public Speaking skills to represent their organisations successfully.

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How to build confidence for Public Speaking?

Now that you know What is Public Speaking, it’s time to understand how to be an effective public speaker. Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking  can be challenging, but with some strategies and practice, it is possible. Here are some easy-to-understand tips:

Prepare and practice

The more prepared you are, the more confident you'll feel. Research your topic, organise your thoughts, and create an outline or cue cards. Practice your speech multiple times to become familiar with the content. This will boost your confidence.

Start small

Begin by speaking in front of a small and supportive audience, such as friends or family members. This will help you gain confidence gradually and you will get comfortable with speaking in front of others.

Visualise success

Imagine yourself delivering a successful speech. Visualise the positive outcome and how confident and composed you'll feel. This mental rehearsal can help alleviate anxiety and build self-assurance.

Deep breathing and relaxation techniques

Before speaking, take slow and deep breaths to calm your nerves. You should practice relaxation techniques like progressive muscle relaxation or mindfulness to reduce anxiety and promote a sense of calm.

Positive self-talk

Positive self-talk can help replace the negative thoughts with positive ones. Remind yourself that you are prepared and capable. Focus on your strengths and past successes to boost your confidence.

Engage with the audience

Shift your focus from self-consciousness to the audience. Connect with them by making eye contact, smiling, and using friendly gestures. Remember that they want you to succeed and are supportive.

Start with a strong opening

Begin your speech with a captivating opening, such as a story, quote, or interesting fact. A strong start will grab the audience's attention and help you gain momentum.

Embrace mistakes

Understand that mistakes are natural and happen to everyone, even experienced speakers. Instead of dwelling on them, learn from them and keep going. The audience is often more forgiving than we think.

Seek support and feedback

Share your speech with a trusted friend, mentor, or join a Public Speaking group. Their support and constructive feedback can help you improve and build confidence.

Real-life examples of Public Speaking

To help you understand how Public Speaking can help you in the long run, let’s look at some of these examples:

a) Political leaders, when they want to mobilise hundreds of people, present their agendas and bring the importance of the public sentiments in these agendas. This moves the public deeply, and they take up the cause as if it is going to benefit them. The speeches given by Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln are some of the best examples of Public Speaking.

b) Business presentations are crucial to win over investors to fund your project. If you present your ideas concisely and confidently, it will make the investors trust that not only the project but also there shall be a personal financial benefit for them in that project.

c) When teachers and professors impart important lessons verbally, this is also a form of Public Speaking. Here, it is to be noted that they teach in such a way that they can not only capture the attention of the students throughout the lesson but also the students can retain them for a longer period.

d) TED talks have been quite popular for the past few years. The speakers who preside over the meeting are excellent orators. They help the audience relate to their speech with many examples, humour, and facts. Most importantly, they maintain the pace at which they speak and change only in instances where they want to make a lasting impact on the audience. This calculated pacing during the delivery of the speech is notable, as they are not only remembered by the audience but praised even after the show ends.

e) People who preach a certain way of life or religion are also excellent public speakers. They deliver sermons, mythological facts, and other spiritual facts in their speech in such a way that the audience not only listens with rapt attention but also follows them after the speech is over. Here, you can see that these religious speakers provide guidance and inspire people, creating a community that follows those beliefs.

f) Lawyers are known to be one of the best public speakers. They present and delegate facts to win arguments over the judge and the jury members. They articulate legal facts promptly, which even the masses attending the court can understand.

g) Journalists are also one of the best public speakers. They possess the power to influence the masses by providing them with correct facts about current world affairs. With their Public Speaking skills, they can change public perception in numerous interviews.

h) Speeches by students, faculty, or guest speakers celebrate achievements, provide wisdom, and inspire other students for the next stage of their lives. These speeches are filled with real-life examples, which helps the students understand how to deal with situations in their lives.

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We hope that this blog helped you understand What is Public Speaking.   It is an important skill that allows people to share their thoughts, inform others, persuade, and entertain. While it can be intimidating, with practice and confidence-building techniques, anyone can overcome the fear and become a confident public speaker. Remember, the power of effective communication through Public Speaking can positively impact both personal and professional aspects of life.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Preparation and practicing delivery are essential for delivering an effective public speech. Preparation ensures that the speaker understands the topic thoroughly and can structure the speech coherently, while practicing delivery helps improve confidence, clarity, and the ability to engage and connect with the audience effectively.

Yes, Public Speaking skills can be learned through various approaches and resources. Some effective methods include attending public speaking courses or workshops, joining Toastmasters or similar speaking clubs, practicing regularly, seeking feedback, and studying speeches of accomplished speakers for inspiration and techniques.

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The Knowledge Academy offers various Leadership Courses , including Leadership Skills and Agile Leadership Trainings. These courses cater to different skill levels, providing comprehensive insights into Organisational Leadership .    

Our Business Skills blogs covers a range of topics related to Public Speaking skills and upskilling, offering valuable resources, best practices, and industry insights. Whether you are a beginner or looking to advance your Leadership skills, The Knowledge Academy's diverse courses and informative blogs have you covered.  

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What is Public Speaking and How to Improve in 5 Steps

Written by Molly Hocutt

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Traditionally, public speakers would stand in front of an audience to share their thoughts. Modern public speaking is a bit different – speakers have learned how to give presentations in webinars and other digital formats.

Speaking in public is a powerful skill in business. If you cannot communicate your thoughts to colleagues and customers in an exciting way, your career growth may slow or even stall. To understand why this skill matters, let’s start with a definition.

The path to becoming effective at public presentations is simple, but it does require focus and discipline. Before getting into specific tips, you might be wondering why public speaking is important. We’ll cover that point in further detail below.

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Public speaking definition: what it means

Public speaking is giving a presentation to a group of people to inspire, drive action or share information. You can speak in public in a room or virtually through a video platform. It is one of the most valuable skills in business especially for sales, marketing, and leadership.

Why is public speaking important?

To answer why public speaking is essential, let’s look at some of the ways speaking in public comes up in the business world.

The first reason public speaking matters is that you need to move projects ahead inside your company. Imagine you have a great idea to improve your company’s products. There’s just one obstacle – you need to convince executives to give you funding to bring the idea to life. There’s a good chance you will be asked to make a presentation to the executives to win support for the project.

Public speaking is also crucially important for sales success . Whether you are in sales, customer support, or another department, you may be asked to present to customers. A strong presentation could make a difference in landing a deal for your company and losing a customer. In addition, you cannot achieve success with webinars, podcasts, YouTube videos, and online conferences without public speaking skills.

Public speaking skills are crucial in getting promoted to leadership positions. Are you interested in being promoted to a management or executive job? The hiring process for these senior positions typically involves giving a presentation to the hiring committee.

Now you know why public speaking is important to your career success, let’s get ready.

Public Speaking Success Step 1: Be prepared

Taking the time to prepare is vital for all public speakers. Use the following tips to get ready for your next public speaking event.

Start by making an effort to research your audience’s needs and desires. Before public speakers say a word, they know their audience. Specifically, find out the size of the audience (i.e. an intimate group of 10 executives or 1000 people in a company-wide meeting) and what your audience is interested in hearing. For instance, if you are presenting to a group of accountants and finance experts, emphasizing numbers and hard facts makes sense.

Once you understand your audience, check your time constraints. There is a big difference between a 10-minute presentation in a large meeting and an hour-long in-depth webinar as a public speaker. Attempting to rush through a long presentation makes it difficult for the audience to understand you.

Research is the next step in the preparation process. The best public speakers in history gathered facts and stories to illustrate their presentations. For example, gathering financial data before making an investment presentation is crucial.

The final step of your presentation is to create visual aids to keep your audience’s interest. When public speakers have the option to use visual aids, they take advantage of the opportunity. Resist the urge to write your entire presentation on slides. The slides are there to reinforce your public presentation, not replace it.

At least a day before your presentation, take the time to practice. You can practice speaking at home in front of your mirror. If possible, it is also helpful to practice your presentation in front of a small audience to get feedback.

Novice public speakers might want to allow for extra time to develop their presentations.

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Public Speaking Success Step 2: Learn to tame your webcam

Many of your public presentations today may involve presenting at an online event like a webinar. Use these tips to make sure your webcam and microphone are working.

Running a short technical test of your equipment is step one. Start by testing your webcam and microphone with an online testing tool like webcastests.com or onlinemictest.com . Assuming these tools work correctly, move on to practice using the equipment.

Verifying your equipment works with a testing app is a good starting point, but practice is even better. Each video and presentation app has slightly different settings. Therefore, it is wise to practice your presentation using the same app. If you are presenting to your audience using Livestorm, set up a practice session with Livestorm with a friend. This will give you the chance to fine-tune audio and video settings.

Public Speaking Success Step 3: Practice speaking in public

Giving a public speech in an office, conference room and other settings takes some additional practice. To make a good impression during your public speech, use these tips to practice speaking in public.

Checking the room where you will be speaking in advance is smart. When possible, visit the room in advance before you are speaking so that you understand the layout of the seats. You can also find out if what equipment the room has available like projectors, screens and whiteboards.

Taking a few minutes to test your equipment before an event makes for a smoother presentation. Larger rooms might have equipment for public speakers, like a podium or sound system. If these resources are available, consider using them. If there is a technical support team available, introduce yourself and let them know you are giving a presentation.

Most public speakers drink plenty of water. If you are giving a longer presentation, bringing a bottle of water is a simple step to stay comfortable. Add a reminder to your calendar to bring a bottle of water to the presentation so that you don’t forget.

For the most important presentations like major sales calls or executive presentations, make extra time for practice. If the conference room is large, has complex technology, or requires a microphone, practice speaking in the space before the event.

Now you know how to prepare yourself, let’s turn to the other key player in every public speech: the audience.

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Public Speaking Success Step 4: Engage your audience

Engaging your audience in a public speech is vital. A bored audience is unlikely to remember what you say or act in your public speech. Practice using the following techniques to keep your audience engaged.

Vary the speed, volume, and style of your speaking style. You can engage your audience by changing your speaking speed, tone, and volume throughout your presentation. You might consider speaking more loudly or repeating a significant point. You might also pause speaking for a few seconds to allow the audience to reflect on crucial points.

Engage your audience by posting questions to them. Directly asking questions to your audience gives them a chance to think through the topic. For example, propose a few potential solutions (e.g. we can build this software internally or purchase it from a provider) and ask the audience to consider which option is the best fit.

In our age of short attention spans, giving your audience physical actions to do is a smart way to keep engagement high. Public speakers who give webinar presentations often ask the audience to write down ideas, send an email or take another quick action. Giving your audience a simple action to perform can keep them engaged. The one rule of thumb is to keep the actions simple and easy.

The way you end your presentation is vitally important. The end of your public presentation matters a great deal to engagement. What exactly do you want your audience to think, do, or feel at the end? If you want executives to provide funding for a project, ask for funding approval. If you are making a sales presentation, ask for the sale! Without a clear next step, your audience may not do anything after the presentation.

Public Speaking Success Step 5: How to be a better public speaker during online events?

Delivering a successful public presentation during online events takes some different techniques. Technology glitches and bandwidth problems can make life challenging for a public speaker at an online event. Fortunately, there are several practical techniques you can use to keep audiences engaged in your virtual presentation.

The first step is technical: test your equipment before the session. When possible, set time aside to test your webcam and microphone before joining the online event. Usually, 10 minutes of testing is all you need.

Next, make use of the engagement tools and features on the platform. With Livestorm, you write on a virtual whiteboard during your presentation. Taking a minute or two to draw charts and diagrams during your presentation can make your presentation more attractive.

Use polls to gather insight from your audience. When you present a larger audience of 50 or more people at a web conference, a poll is a great way to gather more insight into your audience. Your poll questions should be simple and easy to fill out in 60 seconds or less. For example, you could ask the audience if they are familiar with the technology trend you are speaking about.

Refer to the event chat room at least two or three times during your presentation. Most online events include a virtual chat room where attendees can ask questions and share their thoughts. Set a reminder to check the chat room a few times during your presentation. For example, it is helpful to check the chat in the first few minutes of your presentation to verify that attendees can hear you. For longer presentations, ask an assistant to keep track of the questions asked during the session so you can answer them at the end.

Use presentation software to create a visually interesting presentation. Most public speakers know how to create a PowerPoint presentation. To create an impressive public presentation, use additional tools. For example, use Muzzle (Mac OS only) to stop distracting desktop notifications. For more insight on the software, you can use in your presentations and webinars, check out our article on 10 tools to improve your webinar presentations .

Public speaking: final thoughts

A 2014 survey by Prezi found that 70% of employed Americans consider presentation skills critical to their success at work. The answer to the question “what is public speaking” might just be “the key to your career growth.” If you are interested in leadership roles or long-term success in sales and marketing, developing public speaking skills is necessary. Whether you are asked to give a traditional public presentation, speak at a webinar or speak at a community event, public speakers are in high demand. The best part? Public speaking is an evergreen skill you can use throughout your entire career, even as technology evolves.

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About the author

Molly Hocutt - Content Manager

Molly joined Livestorm in 2019 as a Content Manager and manages written content production. Her work focuses on lead generation and organic website traffic.

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Introduction to Public Speaking

Criteria for success.

• You keep your audience engaged by speaking clearly and strategically altering your delivery.
• You enhance your message through deliberate movements while minimizing nervous tics and distracting gestures.
• You become more comfortable and confident in your delivery by practicing specific aspects you want to improve in multiple shorter sessions.

Public speaking, or the act of performing a speech in front of a live audience, is an integral part of scientific communication. Your reason for giving a talk may vary—whether you want to share your latest results with a broader audience, impress potential employers, or educate children about science. However, in all of these cases, it’s necessary to engage your audience and communicate your message clearly.

Public speaking has two main components: content (what you say) and delivery (how you say it). The content of your talk determines how impactful your talk can be, and your delivery determines how impactful your talk actually is . Without a strong, engaging delivery, you will lose your audience’s attention and fail to communicate your content. In order to become an engaging speaker, it is necessary to practice what you want to say and how you are going to say it.

These articles on public speaking will focus on the delivery aspect of your talk. From maintaining eye contact and speaking loudly and clearly, to incorporating movements that enhance your message and keep your audience engaged, there are many elements that go into being a great public speaker. Fortunately, these skills can be learned and honed and with enough practice will become second nature. In turn, improving your presentation skills will help you feel more confident standing in front of an audience and help you present your ideas and results to your audience more clearly.

Analyze your audience

As in any other form of scientific communication, your audience during a presentation can vary widely. Are you presenting a poster in a more intimate, one-on-one or small group setting? Are you presenting a talk to a room full of scientists from various fields? Or are you talking to the general public? Understanding who your audience will be ahead of time will help you pick the right tone you want to use while delivering your presentation.

During your talk, you will receive subtle feedback from your audience that you can use to alter how you proceed—is your audience engaged, dozing off, looking elsewhere, or focused more on your slides than on you? Staying present and actively adjusting your volume, tone of voice, and body language can alter how your message is conveyed, how you are perceived, and whether you can keep your audience’s attention.

We have broken down public speaking skills into verbal and nonverbal communication, and tips on how to practice more efficiently.

• Verbal – Speaking clearly, loudly, and in an engaging fashion can make or break a presentation. This article goes into more detail on how to use your voice effectively.
• Nonverbal – Standing in front of an audience can be nervewracking! This article addresses how you can use nonverbal cues like eye contact and body language to convey confidence and a strong stage presence.
• How to practice effectively – Practicing is an essential part of preparing for a presentation that often gets overlooked because we run out of time. This article will help you identify areas you want to improve and guide you through the process of practicing.
• The day of your presentation – You have enough to remember before your presentation! To help take off some of the stress, we’ve put together a short list of tips to help you be at your best.

For help with presentation content and design, visit our articles on Slideshows and Posters .

Ace the Presentation

The Ultimate Guide to Public Speaking

Knowing how to communicate effectively is fundamental for both our personal and professional lives.

Speaking in Public is challenging for many people, as some are timid and insecure, or simply require more experience in speaking in front of others .

In this article, you will learn about the basics of public speaking , common speaking challenges that people have, how to address those challenges, and key tips on how to structure your delivery to make your speeches more successful.

Let us start our Guide to Public Speaking with a bit of history. Further along, we will address the importance of communication elements, and we will also bring relevant information on how to use language and structure a public presentation.

The Art of Public Speaking – Origin and Meaning

Oratory or public speaking originated with the need people had to defend themselves from the attacks of the tyrants of Syracuse, thereby meaning a way of setting social justice and a ticket to freedom of speech.

According to Lopes (2000), the art of public speaking comes from Greek origins; the city of Athens was the most crucial center of oratory studies both in rhetoric and eloquence.

In the 5th century BC, with concern for the mastery of the verbal expression arose the oratory in Greece. At that time, ordinary citizens would be usurped of their property and other rights. Only the clergy and high society people would be allowed to reverse social and political situations.

However, with Aristotle, public speaking found fertile ground for its development in his most ancient work on oratory entitled “The Art of Rhetoric .”

Aristotle book refers, respectively: 

• The line of argument to be followed by the speaker;
• To teach how the listener learns the ideas;
• The exposition of the structure of the discourse and its parts.

What is Public Speaking?

Public Speaking is an exposition of ideas prepared in an organized way, and that should always be composed of some essential characteristics concerning the organization of thought and reasoning.

Bloch et al. (2002) point out that public speaking expresses what we feel, communicates what we think, and exposes the facts as effectively as possible.

 Your audience can be from the child to the most evolved scientist who can absorb what you say.

7 Elements of Speech Communication

1. emitter/ speaker.

The emitter is the person who wants to deliver a message to a particular group of people or individuals; in public speaking, the issuer is known as the speaker.

Factors to be considered:

• Motivation – The presentation can be made to provide/obtain information, to convince the group about a new idea, to “sell” a service, to present results, or to persuade about an argument;
• Credibility – The degree of acceptance of the message shall be directly proportional to the knowledge of the speaker on the subject;
• Performance – Correct use of verbal expression and non-verbal communication with others.

2. Receiver/ Audience

The person or group of persons situated at the other end of the communication chain receives the message and interprets it internally, manifesting this interpretation externally.

The receiver goes the other way, that is, part of the signifiers until reaching the intention of signification.

Therefore, the mapping of characteristics of the target public shall include all attempts to obtain as much information as possible about it: number of persons present, sex, age, race, profession or function in the undertaking, training, level of education, knowledge of the subject to be dealt with, relevant background and expectations or needs.

3. Target/ Content

The content or target is the link between speaker and audience; the object of communication; translation of ideas, objectives, and intentions; the message shall be organized in terms of:

• Content – refers to what will be said regarding a specific subject, and the first step is to define the purpose of the presentation; 
• After that, having in mind the main characteristics of the audience and the time available , one should select the most important ideas that will be presented, that is, prioritize the relevant arguments.

4. Structure

The structure concerns the organization of the message. A well-organized message presents everyone its elements connected logically with each other;

When organizing the content, it is essential to divide the presentation into three parts: i) introduction (attractive and inviting), ii)  a body (concise, clear and coherent), and a conclusion (emphatic and brief);

The codes are a set of rules combined to generate understanding; the audience will identify this sign system, performing the decoding operation, only if its repertoire is typical of the issuer.

Language is the code most used to establish communication since it is the social agreement of language made by a particular society.

The code is also a set of signs and signals used to transmit the message: verbal language, non-verbal language, sign language, colors.

 If the speaker fails one of these elements, the message may not be delivered properly, and there is no communication.

Therefore, it is vital that you thoroughly analyze your target audience to make sure that they understand the set of codes you choose.

6. Channel 

The channel functions as a “vein of circulation” of the message, which means the pathway chosen by the sender/speaker to which the message is handed.

When making a presentation, the message can be transmitted in different ways: visual gestures, body movements, facial expressions, posture, tone of voice, variation of height and vocal intensity, and manipulation of objects.

Whenever possible, it is crucial to know the location of the presentation in advance; in this way, some amendments it deems necessary can be removed.

By getting to know the environment you will be delivering your speech, you can plan each movement in the room, reduce the anxiety, the correct position of the equipment, the use of the microphone, etc.

“When troops move, it is essential to know the conditions of the land first; when you know distances, you can draw up direct or indirect attack plans. The understanding of where the battle will be braked shall indicate where they should concentrate or subdivide the forces. ” Sun Tau

The 7 Basic Elements of Public Speaking

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5 Things to Consider when Structuring and Delivering a Public Speaking

1. who is the speaker.

The speaker must know his natural communication behavior, if he speaks little, likes to communicate, has the habit of reading, is reserved or outgoing, so the speaker will know when his linguist skills are or will need to be further explored.

For speech skills to be improved, it is necessary to stimulate the habit of reading, producing texts and performing interpretations of written materials.

Reading aloud and recording the production of speech may also help to know about one’s evolution, deficiencies, and potentialities.

2. Who is the audience?

The speaker refers to the listeners/audience of the message, so the success of the speech is determined by the listener’s understanding or by the action that the experience will generate.

To guarantee that the message is accurately delivered to the audience, it is necessary to adjust the speech to the level of instruction and the current situation of the listener.

And that is determined by how you present the content starting from the structure to the tools you use to deliver it; also, the audience can become more attentive to receive the message have some prior knowledge of the subject.

Communication becomes effective only if the interlocutor can understand the message.

3. What is the message being delivered?

Refers to the content and type of speech; however, the content is always involved in the service of a determined intention. For a purpose, the communication becomes meaningless if it fails to convey the subject.

4. Why is this message important?

What drives you and makes this message crucial to this crowd you wish to face and deliver it?

The Cruciality of a message has to do with the impression made to the listener after the message is transmitted. This effect to be produced when a speech is concluded must directly connect with the action intended to generate as a response.

Refers to the channel through which the message will be transmitted, being auditory, visual, or both, if it will be necessary to use more audiovisual resources, including microphone, multimedia, and others.

To know which resources will be most effective in the relevance of the message transmission takes into account, among other things, the distance between speaker and listener.

Inappropriate channel selection can lead to ineffective communication. The speaker should ask himself if the message he wishes to spread would be better understood if it was written or spoken, don’t forget about visual impacts.

Did you know that pauses during a speech create a feeling of suspense? A more attentive environment is built from a short crease, and the audience gets ready to receive what you will be saying, so using it share a key message from the content you have prepared.

• Being able to emphasize what one wants to say, providing explanative intonation can also manifest surprise, admiration, or irony; 
• The fluency and speed of speech present logical thinking and chained ideas, the use of more than one question mark in an interrogative phrase characterizes a question difficult to answer.

Thus, the use of these resources with balance and variety can confer the speaker’s naturalness, expressiveness, and attitude with the text emitted of greater understanding of the subject by the listener.

Imagine a doctor (speaker) who uses technical language to explain how a symptom a patient (listener)  has may turn into a dangerous disease if not taken care of and because he doesn’t master the language (content), he leaves there confused and not understanding how important it is that action is taken.

In such a case, the speaker:

1) Did not assess who the receiver of the message was;

2) Did not adapt the content to its listener;

3) Did not evaluate the intention of the message.

• Its essential point is to assess whether the receiver understands the message;
•  Check, whenever possible, by asking questions about what you exposed until that moment or asking him to recall the point’s central issue.

Public Speaking – Fears, blockages, and barriers

The art of speaking well in public, for some, is considered a gift. However, many who do not possess any favor of nature can overcome barriers and become excellent speakers.

Blockages, barriers, tension, and nervousness will always exist, either for beginners or those who already have experience in public speaking.

There’s no getting better if we are not aware of these public speaking barriers .

5 Reasons why you Fear Public Speaking 

Unsuccessful experiences .

You may have an experience of public speaking and for some reason didn’t go as expected, which creates in you the false idea that will always give wrong.

The past is the past and does it right; you have to know the wrong steps; remember that people you may know as great speakers did poorly before that would be the example of Mahatma Gandhi.

In 1889, while working as a young lawyer, Mahatma Gandhi froze before a judge and ran out of court, feeling humiliated . “My head was spinning, and it felt like the whole court was doing the same,” Gandhi wrote in a letter.

He called this feeling “the terrible strain of public speaking .” And that’s kept him from even talking at dinners between friends. 

When Gandhi decided to dedicate himself to a cause and wanted to convey a message he considered essential profoundly, Gandhi found the motivation he needed to overcome fear. 

Lack of Experience

When you do not practice something or do it a few times, you don’t create space for your brain to build learnings, preventing the development of skill, in this case, public speaking.

Cognitive psychologists say that the learning process is a systematic and active process that associates new information to the knowledge we already have on a subject, exploratory and creative.

The billionaire Warren Buffett was terrified of speaking in public early in his career. He attempted to take an oratory course, but he gave up out of fear; however, he was very aware that it would be essential to succeed.

Then, in his second trial, Buffett won a diploma that he boasts with great pride; in his documentary “Becoming Warren Buffet,” Buffet stated:

“In my office, you will not see the degree I got at the University of Nebraska, and you will not see the master’s degree I took at Columbia University. But you’ll see the certificate I received from the Dale Carnegie Course.”   Warren Buffett

Perfectionism 

Many psychologists describe perfectionism as the need to set high and rigid standards for oneself; a perfectionist follows a series of conduct requirements, created especially for himself, and makes constant self-evaluations.

Excess self-criticism when delivering public speaking may prevent you from seeing any action you do with empathy and can also degrade your self-esteem, which is crucial to standing in front of a podium.

Social anxiety corresponds to the difficulty the person presents in interacting socially, for example, speaking in public. It comes from the fear of being judged, feeling humiliated, or that other person may notice their weaknesses.

Symptoms of anxiety and nervousness are typical when they arise before or during a job interview or in a presentation. 

However, when symptoms arise in various situations, especially when you are around other people, it can be a sign of social anxiety disorder, and the person should seek psychological treatment.

Negative self-image

Your self-image is basically how you see yourself, and it’s your internal photography that shows itself to others. And how do you measure the impact of your image on those who hear you?

If you see yourself as someone who can’t do an outstanding performance in public, you probably can’t do it.

If perhaps you said something wrong at the time of school and your classmates laughed at you, you may today be afraid that others will laugh again at what you have to say.

Note that these problems directly influence your ability to speak in public. And that if you change the way you look at yourself, you will significantly improve your potential to express yourself in large groups.

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3 Strategies to reduce fear before and during a Speech

Focus on breathing.

A simple exercise to improve breathing is standing with your legs ajar in a posture that bodyweight is proportionally distributed in your two legs.

Place your hands on the waist and fill the lungs with air slowly, then release the air slowly with your mouth half-open.

 Repeat the exercise several times until you feel relaxed; this is a good exercise before starting a presentation.

Practice in a safe place (home or with friends)

One of the most effective ways to deal with the fear of public speaking is to practice a presentation in advance. Set the central points of your speech and set up a schematic to remember them all. After that, practice your exposure alone as often as necessary.

Prefer low lights

To reduce anxiety or any fear during public speaking, you can choose to dark the place a little bit to mitigate your excitement and keep your mind clear, and the audience focused and comfortable.

There is one more benefit to having dim lighting; the public laughs more.

  Comedians prefer a “poorly lit space,” Peter Mcgraw and Joel Warner described in their book The Humor Code, which seems to “help people feel more protected and thus less inhibited in laughing.”

5 Tips to Win a Crowd Over when Speaking in Public

One of the concerns of a speaker must be to please the audience. If you’ve done a previous study of the type of audience you’ll talk to, and you’ll undoubtedly know how to behave. Meet some challenges to get the viewer’s attention:

1. Be Truthful and Care about the Audience Experience

Do everything so that your professional qualifications and experiences do not demonstrate exhibitionism. Greet everyone with courtesy and issue honesty and professionalism. 

Another way of putting this would be – try your best to be charismatic.

2. Use a simple language

Your first strategy is to employ simple language so that your text becomes clear. The choice of words can create intimacy with the receiver and make your speech more pleasurable.

Beforehand knowing the audience to whom you will perform, it will be possible to plan how you will speak and what words to use.

It is essential to mark the vocabulary to be used considering the minor present education level.

3. Instill curiosity in the audience

Cite a fact or ask a question that makes them curious; when it’s time to deliver a speech, always give them new data to support the fresh perspective you want them to get to know.

4. Turn your text into a story

Generally, we will deal with matters related to reality, to a fact-specific, experienced, or relevant to society. In such a case, turn your theme into a story of your or other people and structure it with the same narrative techniques.

See the problem in the subject, what will give life, and arguments to your text. Count as the facts occur, its most critical points, and then conclude. 

People usually enjoy storytelling, especially if they are personal experiences related to a subject that is concerning to them it turns the presentation more engaging to them. 

5. Know when to change strategies

Notice the extent to which you are pleasing or not if you observe any tiredness movement (people getting up, yawning, talking).

Change your strategy, be more succinct, and instill the participation of all.

Changes in intonation in the course of speech and the use of audiovisual or dynamic resources, too, are usually good strategies to maintain the audience attentive to your presentation.

Public speaking can be difficult if you get familiarized with pitching ideas and sharing your notes and research with unknown people.

However, once you get in it and allow yourself to fail, keep learning and be open to practice and share the knowledge, you learn it quickly.

References and Further Reading

10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills.

AcethePresentation. 13 ways to overcome public speaking anxiety.

AcethePresentation. AmadeBai, Emidio. What Makes A Bad Public Speaker? Top 10 Worst Traits To Avoid

High Spark. The Ultimate Public Speaking Guide To Impress Any Audience.

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1.2 The Process of Public Speaking

Learning objectives.

• Identify the three components of getting your message across to others.
• Distinguish between the interactional models of communication and the transactional model of communication.
• Explain the three principles discussed in the dialogical theory of public speaking.

Looking4poetry – megaphone head man – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

As noted earlier, all of us encounter thousands of messages in our everyday environments, so getting your idea heard above all the other ones is a constant battle. Some speakers will try gimmicks, but we strongly believe that getting your message heard depends on three fundamental components: message, skill, and passion. The first part of getting your message across is the message itself. When what you are saying is clear and coherent, people are more likely to pay attention to it. On the other hand, when a message is ambiguous, people will often stop paying attention. Our discussions in the first part of this book involve how to have clear and coherent content.

The second part of getting your message heard is having effective communication skills. You may have the best ideas in the world, but if you do not possess basic public speaking skills, you’re going to have a problem getting anyone to listen. In this book, we will address the skills you must possess to effectively communicate your ideas to others.

Lastly, if you want your message to be heard, you must communicate passion for your message. One mistake that novice public speakers make is picking topics in which they have no emotional investment. If an audience can tell that you don’t really care about your topic, they will just tune you out. Passion is the extra spark that draws people’s attention and makes them want to listen to your message.

In this section, we’re going to examine the process of public speaking by first introducing you to a basic model of public speaking and then discussing how public speaking functions as dialogue. These models will give you a basic understanding of the communication process and some challenges that you may face as a speaker.

Models of Public Speaking

A basic model of human communication is one of the first topics that most communication teachers start with in any class. For our focus on public speaking, we will introduce two widely discussed models in communication: interactional and transactional.

Interactional Model of Public Speaking

Linear model.

The interactional model of public speaking comes from the work of Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver (Shannon & Weaver, 1949). The original model mirrored how radio and telephone technologies functioned and consisted of three primary parts: source, channel, and receiver. The source was the part of a telephone a person spoke into, the channel was the telephone itself, and the receiver was the part of the phone where one could hear the other person. Shannon and Weaver also recognized that often there is static that interferes with listening to a telephone conversation, which they called noise.

Although there are a number of problems with applying this model to human communication, it does have some useful parallels to public speaking. In public speaking, the source is the person who is giving the speech, the channel is the speaker’s use of verbal and nonverbal communication , and the receivers are the audience members listening to the speech. As with a telephone call, a wide range of distractions ( noise ) can inhibit an audience member from accurately attending to a speaker’s speech. Avoiding or adapting to these types of noise is an important challenge for public speakers.

Interactional Model

The interactional model of communication developed by Wilbur Schramm builds upon the linear model (Schramm, 1954). Schramm added three major components to the Shannon and Weaver model. First, Schramm identified two basic processes of communication: encoding and decoding. Encoding is what a source does when “creating a message, adapting it to the receiver, and transmitting it across some source-selected channel” (Wrench, McCroskey & Richmond, 2008). When you are at home preparing your speech or standing in front of your classroom talking to your peers, you are participating in the encoding process.

The second major process is the decoding process, or “sensing (for example, hearing or seeing) a source’s message, interpreting the source’s message, evaluating the source’s message, and responding to the source’s message” (Wrench, McCroskey & Richmond, 2008). Decoding is relevant in the public speaking context when, as an audience member, you listen to the words of the speech, pay attention to nonverbal behaviors of the speaker, and attend to any presentation aids that the speaker uses. You must then interpret what the speaker is saying.

Although interpreting a speaker’s message may sound easy in theory, in practice many problems can arise. A speaker’s verbal message, nonverbal communication, and mediated presentation aids can all make a message either clearer or harder to understand. For example, unfamiliar vocabulary, speaking too fast or too softly, or small print on presentation aids may make it difficult for you to figure out what the speaker means. Conversely, by providing definitions of complex terms, using well-timed gestures, or displaying graphs of quantitative information, the speaker can help you interpret his or her meaning.

Once you have interpreted what the speaker is communicating, you then evaluate the message. Was it good? Do you agree or disagree with the speaker? Is a speaker’s argument logical? These are all questions that you may ask yourself when evaluating a speech.

The last part of decoding is “responding to a source’s message,” when the receiver encodes a message to send to the source. When a receiver sends a message back to a source, we call this process feedback . Schramm talks about three types of feedback: direct, moderately direct, and indirect (Schramm, 1954). The first type, direct feedback, occurs when the receiver directly talks to the source. For example, if a speech ends with a question-and-answer period, listeners will openly agree or disagree with the speaker. The second type of feedback, moderately direct, focuses on nonverbal messages sent while a source is speaking, such as audience members smiling and nodding their heads in agreement or looking at their watches or surreptitiously sending text messages during the speech. The final type of feedback, indirect, often involves a greater time gap between the actual message and the receiver’s feedback. For example, suppose you run for student body president and give speeches to a variety of groups all over campus, only to lose on student election day. Your audiences (the different groups you spoke to) have offered you indirect feedback on your message through their votes. One of the challenges you’ll face as a public speaker is how to respond effectively to audience feedback, particularly the direct and moderately direct forms of feedback you receive during your presentation.

Transactional Model of Public Speaking

One of the biggest concerns that some people have with the interactional model of communication is that it tends to place people into the category of either source or receiver with no overlap. Even with Schramm’s model, encoding and decoding are perceived as distinct for sources and receivers. Furthermore, the interactional model cannot handle situations where multiple sources are interacting at the same time (Mortenson, 1972). To address these weaknesses, Dean Barnlund proposed a transactional model of communication (Barnlund, 2008). The basic premise of the transactional model is that individuals are sending and receiving messages at the same time. Whereas the interactional model has individuals engaging in the role of either source or receiver and the meaning of a message is sent from the source to the receiver, the transactional model assumes that meaning is cocreated by both people interacting together.

The idea that meanings are cocreated between people is based on a concept called the “field of experience.” According to West and Turner, a field of experience involves “how a person’s culture, experiences, and heredity influence his or her ability to communicate with another” (West & Turner, 2010). Our education, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, personality, beliefs, actions, attitudes, languages, social status, past experiences, and customs are all aspects of our field of experience, which we bring to every interaction. For meaning to occur, we must have some shared experiences with our audience; this makes it challenging to speak effectively to audiences with very different experiences from our own. Our goal as public speakers is to build upon shared fields of experience so that we can help audience members interpret our message.

Dialogic Theory of Public Speaking

Most people think of public speaking as engaging in a monologue where the speaker stands and delivers information and the audience passively listens. Based on the work of numerous philosophers, however, Ronald Arnett and Pat Arneson proposed that all communication, even public speaking, could be viewed as a dialogue (Arnett & Arneson, 1999). The dialogic theory is based on three overarching principles:

• Dialogue is more natural than monologue.
• Meanings are in people not words.
• Contexts and social situations impact perceived meanings (Bakhtin, 2001a; Bakhtin, 2001b).

Let’s look at each of these in turn.

Dialogue vs. Monologue

The first tenet of the dialogic perspective is that communication should be a dialogue and not a monologue. Lev Yakubinsky argued that even public speaking situations often turn into dialogues when audience members actively engage speakers by asking questions. He even claimed that nonverbal behavior (e.g., nodding one’s head in agreement or scowling) functions as feedback for speakers and contributes to a dialogue (Yakubinsky, 1997). Overall, if you approach your public speaking experience as a dialogue, you’ll be more actively engaged as a speaker and more attentive to how your audience is responding, which will, in turn, lead to more actively engaged audience members.

Meanings Are in People, Not Words

Part of the dialogic process in public speaking is realizing that you and your audience may differ in how you see your speech. Hellmut Geissner and Edith Slembeck (1986) discussed Geissner’s idea of responsibility, or the notion that the meanings of words must be mutually agreed upon by people interacting with each other (Geissner & Slembek, 1986). If you say the word “dog” and think of a soft, furry pet and your audience member thinks of the animal that attacked him as a child, the two of you perceive the word from very different vantage points. As speakers, we must do our best to craft messages that take our audience into account and use audience feedback to determine whether the meaning we intend is the one that is received. To be successful at conveying our desired meaning, we must know quite a bit about our audience so we can make language choices that will be the most appropriate for the context. Although we cannot predict how all our audience members will interpret specific words, we do know that—for example—using teenage slang when speaking to the audience at a senior center would most likely hurt our ability to convey our meaning clearly.

Contexts and Social Situations

Russian scholar Mikhail Bahktin notes that human interactions take place according to cultural norms and rules (Bakhtin, 2001a; Bakhtin, 2001b). How we approach people, the words we choose, and how we deliver speeches are all dependent on different speaking contexts and social situations. On September 8, 2009, President Barack Obama addressed school children with a televised speech ( http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/PreparedSchoolRemarks ). If you look at the speech he delivered to kids around the country and then at his speeches targeted toward adults, you’ll see lots of differences. These dissimilar speeches are necessary because the audiences (speaking to kids vs. speaking to adults) have different experiences and levels of knowledge. Ultimately, good public speaking is a matter of taking into account the cultural background of your audience and attempting to engage your audience in a dialogue from their own vantage point.

Considering the context of a public speech involves thinking about four dimensions: physical, temporal, social-psychological, and cultural (DeVito, 2009).

Physical Dimension

The physical dimension of communication involves the real or touchable environment where communication occurs. For example, you may find yourself speaking in a classroom, a corporate board room, or a large amphitheater. Each of these real environments will influence your ability to interact with your audience. Larger physical spaces may require you to use a microphone and speaker system to make yourself heard or to use projected presentation aids to convey visual material.

How the room is physically decorated or designed can also impact your interaction with your audience. If the room is dimly lit or is decorated with interesting posters, audience members’ minds may start wandering. If the room is too hot, you’ll find people becoming sleepy. As speakers, we often have little or no control over our physical environment, but we always need to take it into account when planning and delivering our messages.

Temporal Dimension

According to Joseph DeVito, the temporal dimension “has to do not only with the time of day and moment in history but also with where a particular message fits into the sequence of communication events” (DeVito, 2009). The time of day can have a dramatic effect on how alert one’s audience is. Don’t believe us? Try giving a speech in front of a class around 12:30 p.m. when no one’s had lunch. It’s amazing how impatient audience members get once hunger sets in.

In addition to the time of day, we often face temporal dimensions related to how our speech will be viewed in light of societal events. Imagine how a speech on the importance of campus security would be interpreted on the day after a shooting occurred. Compare this with the interpretation of the same speech given at a time when the campus had not had any shootings for years, if ever.

Another element of the temporal dimension is how a message fits with what happens immediately before it. For example, if another speaker has just given an intense speech on death and dying and you stand up to speak about something more trivial, people may downplay your message because it doesn’t fit with the serious tone established by the earlier speech. You never want to be the funny speaker who has to follow an emotional speech where people cried. Most of the time in a speech class, you will have no advance notice as to what the speaker before you will be talking about. Therefore, it is wise to plan on being sensitive to previous topics and be prepared to ease your way subtly into your message if the situation so dictates.

Social-Psychological Dimension

The social-psychological dimension of context refers to “status relationships among participants, roles and games that people play, norms of the society or group, and the friendliness, formality, or gravity of the situation” (DeVito, 2009). You have to know the types of people in your audience and how they react to a wide range of messages.

Cultural Dimension

The final context dimension Joseph DeVito mentions is the cultural dimension (DeVito, 2009). When we interact with others from different cultures, misunderstandings can result from differing cultural beliefs, norms, and practices. As public speakers engaging in a dialogue with our audience members, we must attempt to understand the cultural makeup of our audience so that we can avoid these misunderstandings as much as possible.

Each of these elements of context is a challenge for you as a speaker. Throughout the rest of the book, we’ll discuss how you can meet the challenges presented by the audience and context and become a more effective public speaker in the process.

Key Takeaways

• Getting your message across to others effectively requires attention to message content, skill in communicating content, and your passion for the information presented.
• The interactional models of communication provide a useful foundation for understanding communication and outline basic concepts such as sender, receiver, noise, message, channel, encoding, decoding, and feedback. The transactional model builds on the interactional models by recognizing that people can enact the roles of sender and receiver simultaneously and that interactants cocreate meaning through shared fields of experience.
• The dialogic theory of public speaking understands public speaking as a dialogue between speaker and audience. This dialogue requires the speaker to understand that meaning depends on the speaker’s and hearer’s vantage points and that context affects how we must design and deliver our messages.
• Draw the major models of communication on a piece of paper and then explain how each component is important to public speaking.
• When thinking about your first speech in class, explain the context of your speech using DeVito’s four dimensions: physical, temporal, social-psychological, and cultural. How might you address challenges posed by each of these four dimensions?

Arnett, R. C., & Arneson, P. (1999). Dialogic civility in a cynical age: Community, hope, and interpersonal relationships . Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Bakhtin, M. (2001a). The problem of speech genres. (V. W. McGee, Trans., 1986). In P. Bizzell & B. Herzberg (Eds.), The rhetorical tradition (pp. 1227–1245). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s. (Original work published in 1953.).

Bakhtin, M. (2001b). Marxism and the philosophy of language. (L. Matejka & I. R. Titunik, Trans., 1973). In P. Bizzell & B. Herzberg (Eds.), The rhetorical tradition (pp. 1210–1226). Boston, MA: Medford/St. Martin’s. (Original work published in 1953).

Barnlund, D. C. (2008). A transactional model of communication. In C. D. Mortensen (Ed.), Communication theory (2nd ed., pp. 47–57). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

DeVito, J. A. (2009). The interpersonal communication book (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Geissner, H., & Slembek, E. (1986). Miteinander sprechen und handeln [Speak and act: Living and working together]. Frankfurt, Germany: Scriptor.

Mortenson, C. D. (1972). Communication: The study of human communication . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Schramm, W. (1954). How communication works. In W. Schramm (Ed.), The process and effects of communication (pp. 3–26). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.

Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication . Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.

West, R., & Turner, L. H. (2010). Introducing communication theory: Analysis and application (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, p. 13.

Wrench, J. S., McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (2008). Human communication in everyday life: Explanations and applications . Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 17.

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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9 Differences between Presentation and Public Speaking?

By: Author Shrot Katewa

People often confuse presentation with public speaking. After all, both require you to speak in front of an audience. But, there are subtle and important differences between a presentation and public speaking. It is better to understand this difference so that we can prepare accordingly and get the best results!

So, in this article, I will be sharing with you a few key differences between a presentation and public speaking. So, let’s get started!

1. Communication Format

Traditionally, Public Speaking is giving a speech face to face to a live audience. It comprises various forms of spoken communication skills ranging from imparting a speech or debate to motivational speaking to storytelling to Ted talks to entertaining such as a standup comedian.

However, with technological advancements, such as video conferencing, the concept evolved. In modern times, public speaking can be defined as any form of speaking between the speaker and the audience.

On the other hand, a presentation comprises spoken and visual communication. It may be a slide show or an audiovisual presentation. The topic is presented not only verbally but also by displaying content in writing supported with charts, tables, images, or text. 

2. Skills Required

Public speaking is the act of presenting a topic verbally. It is often used as a medium to transfer information, but most importantly, to motivate and encourage the audience.

That said, the only input that goes into public speaking is the speaker, his or her verbal talent and style of communication, all elements displayed collectively as a package.

Whereas presentation requires the presenter to combine verbal and written content and to work with visual presentation programs such as Microsoft power point or Google slides.

3. Time for Preparation

Public speaking is more of an art than just a skill. While you are expected to do a good job when you have time at hand, but a good orator is the one who has the skills to resonate with the audience even when he or she is put on the spot!

At times public speaking may be spontaneous such as extempore. Extempore is a speech that is delivered without preparation. The speaker is given a topic on the spot and is given a minute or two to prepare on the same.

Compared with this presentation is a prepared act. Before the presentation, the presenter is ready with all the required information and facts intertwined in a pre-defined sequence. More often than not, a presentation is on a specific topic and the presenter is given ample amount of time for preparation.

4. Creativity Index

Public speaking is an art that is creative. It may be formal or informal in nature. The style of delivery of every individual is different from others. Every speaker possesses few unique qualities and has complete freedom to design his or her communication style.

Presentation is usually a formal offering. It is a form or act that has to be delivered according to certain pre-set instructions and guidelines. The presenter has limited scope and freedom to divert and add creativity to the presentation. For instance, the most common scope of limitation is the amount of time available to deliver a presentation.

5. Purpose of the Speaker

One of the forms of public speaking is debate. In a debate, every participant speaks either in favor or against the topic. The participant has to convince the audience to agree with his stance – whether right or wrong!

Most forms of public speaking work in a similar fashion. The purpose of the speaker is to convince the audience to agree with the stance of the speaker.

However, in a presentation, a topic is presented comprehensively. The topic is explained in detail highlighting various related points such as advantages, disadvantages, improvement areas, resolution plan, targets, or rewards. The primary aim of the presenter is to educate the audience on the topic, and perhaps drive a call to action.

6. Elements for Effectiveness

Effective public speaking requires the speaker to deliver so efficiently that at the end the audience stands out thrilled, amazed, and persuaded.

An impressive delivery secures more marks than intelligent content. A number of elements such as spontaneity, presence of mind, voice modulations, facial expressions, eye contact, or body language go into the making of an effective speaker. For example, in a singing reality show a participant is judged not only on the basis of his voice quality but also on the way he presents himself while singing, popularly known as the X factor.

Unlike public speaking, a presentation focuses more on content rather than on communication style. The key responsibility of the presenter is to provide the audience with detailed information on the topic covering all its aspects.

An example that may be quoted is that of an author narrating a story through a kid’s YouTube video. In the video, the author narrates the story using various voice modulations to make it entertaining for the kids and to make them feel every emotion of the characters. This case portrays the modern form of public speaking where face-to-face interaction has been eliminated.

At the same time the author presents the story using text, pictures, animations or effects in the video to make the kids visualize the characters and understand the flow of the story. 

7. Size of the Audience 

In public speaking, a speaker can address an audience ranging from a group of few people to a large gathering with thousands or millions of people. An interview wherein two people are in conversation with each other or a motivational speaker addressing a huge crowd may both be considered examples of public speaking.

On the other hand, a presentation is made to a defined set of people organized together in a small or mid-sized group with a limited number of members. To cite an example, students presenting a case study to the classmates or an advertising agency presenting to its prospective client.

Most large forms of presentations won’t usually exceed an audience that can fill an auditorium often limited to a few hundreds. Whereas, for public speaking, the audience can be a large gathering of thousands of people in a ground!

8. Type of Audience

Generally speaking, the type of audience present during a public speaking event is usually a group or a mass of unknown people. The speaker is neither acquainted with the audience nor related to it in any way. For instance, when a spiritual speaker addresses a group of people he is not familiar with the members of the audience.

As against it, in case of presentation the audience comprises a set of people who are familiar with the speaker. Citing the example of a business presentation, say a supervisor presenting to his team the road map to be followed to meet the annual targets, the presenter and every individual in the audience are connected to each other in professional capacity.

9. Motive of the Audience

In public speaking, the people listening to the speaker do not have a common vested interest and every individual in the audience has his own personal motive to fulfill. To elaborate, using the prior example of a spiritual speaker, it is possible that one individual may have resorted to spirituality to overcome his condition of depression and another individual may be listening to the speaker to learn how to control his anger.    

Contrary to the above, in the case of a presentation, all the members participating in the presentation and the speaker have a common vested interest towards which they all intend to work collectively. Drawing from the prior example of a business presentation, the supervisor and all the team members have a common goal of achieving the annual targets.

More Related Topics

• How Much Do Public Speaking Classes Cost? A Quick Guide!
• What is the Difference Between TED and TEDx?
• Why Can’t People Give Presentations? [And How to Get Over it!]
• Toastmasters – Is it Worth it? A Comprehensive Guide!
• Does Taking Xanax Help Before a Presentation? The SURPRISING Truth!

Module 7: Public Speaking

What is public speaking, learning outcomes.

• Discuss key characteristics of public speaking

Public speaking is, simply, an oral presentation or speech delivered to a live audience. It is generally a formal or staged event— although impromptu speeches are a common occurrence—and can be a defining career moment. For example, you may think you’re attending a client meeting only to find yourself called on to explain a procedural or technical point being discussed. Or you may be sitting in a management meeting thinking you are just there to observe when you are asked to elaborate on an aspect of the supporting research and analysis or defend your recommendations.

Impromptu Speaking

Although impromptu speaking isn’t the focus of this module, it is worth noting that this type of speaking is something Toastmaster members train for on an ongoing basis using a technique called “Table Topics.” For more on this technique, read A Table Topics Workout: The Power Packed Exercise for Stretching Your Brain .

Executive presentation coach Peter Khoury has reverse-engineered the characteristics of great speakers for over fifteen years. Combining his findings with scientific research on leadership, he’s distilled this research into the following 9 characteristics of effective public speakers: [1]

Confidence Passion Practice, don’t memorize Speak in a natural voice Authenticity Keep it Short and Sweet Connect with your Audience Paint a Picture through Storytelling Repetition

Like computer failure and natural disasters, finding yourself in a situation requiring public speaking skills is not a matter of whether it will happen but when it will happen. Given the potential career impact, you need to prepare accordingly.

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public speaking

Definition of public speaking

Examples of public speaking in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'public speaking.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1759, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Dictionary Entries Near public speaking

public speaker

public-spirited

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• Public Speaking
• Skills & Tools

Public speaking skills refer to the talent of effectively addressing an audience. Whether it is in front of a group of people you already know or a crowd of complete strangers, your ability to communicate to them with clarity and confidence is known as your public speaking skills.

There may or may not be an opportunity for interaction between the speaker and audience. The basic difference, however, between a casual talk and public speaking is that the latter is more purposeful and meant for celebratory, entertainment, influencing, or informative purposes.

Why is public speaking important

Good public speaking skills can have a huge impact on your career for the following reasons:

• Demonstrates your knowledge . You are always at your best when you can articulate your thoughts clearly and effectively. Public speaking skills help you do exactly that. After all, the true worth of the knowledge you possess can only be realized when you can show and apply it.
• Demonstrates your confidence . Not only does public speaking increase your knowledge during the process of preparation but it also develops and demonstrates your confidence. Whether you are interviewing for a job or hoping for a promotion, your confidence is what will make you stand out among other candidates.
• Helps you lead better . The higher you climb up the career ladder, the greater will be the number of people you shall have to lead. As a result, the need for public speaking skills and the confidence pertinent to it also increases, making it one of the determining characteristic when considering someone for promotion.

How to improve public speaking skills

Following are some helpful tips for improving your public speaking skills:

• Prepare with practice . Once you have prepared a presentation or speech by giving it a logical flow and making it more vibrant with the addition of examples, stories, and visually appealing props, only then your true preparation begins. If you are wondering what that means, remember that practice is the key to preparation. Practice your speech/presentation alone or seek to speak in front of other people until you can speak fluidly with confidence and comfort. This may sometimes require you to tweak your words during practice but it’s preferable to do so in practice instead of doing so at the occasion where you intend to take the mike.
• Accentuate your strengths . Analyze yourself as a public speaker and identify your true strengths and weaknesses. Most of us tend to imitate other public speakers who are popular amongst the crowd. However, the best way is to be yourself and focus on your own strengths. For instance, you might have a good sense of humor that helps in grabbing attention of the crowd, you may be an interesting story teller, or you may be good at clearly explaining complex ideas. Whichever is your strength, utilize it wisely to keep your audience paying attention.
• Keep your ears and eyes open to feedback . Although, all sorts of public speaking do not involve direct interaction between the speaker and his audience, there are various ways in which audience is able to provide feedback. If the audience cannot speak their opinion out loud, as a speaker you should be able to look for nonverbal cues such as the body language or facial expressions of the audience. The feedback, thus, provided by the audience can prove to be a helpful guide in improving one’s public speaking skills.

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Introduction to Public Speaking – A Comprehensive Guide

Imagine standing before a captivated audience, eloquently delivering a speech that leaves a lasting impact. Now, picture yourself advancing in your career thanks to your refined public speaking skills. These scenarios are achievable through mastering the art of public speaking.

In this digital age, effective communication is more crucial than ever, and a comprehensive Coursera course titled “Introduction to Public Speaking” can help you conquer this invaluable skill.

This blog post will guide you through the essentials of public speaking , exploring various types, understanding the communication process, and offering tips for successful presentations.

Whether you aim to enhance your personal or professional life, this course covers every aspect of public speaking, equipping you with the necessary tools to excel in any setting.

Key Takeaways

• Public speaking is a skill that can be honed with an understanding of the fundamentals, such as types of speeches and speech writing.
• Effective public speaking involves crafting clear messages, adapting to different audiences, and using rehearsal methods and stories/anecdotes for impactful presentations.
• Virtual settings require the adaptation of traditional skills to ensure successful communication.

The Art of Public Speaking: An Overview

Public speaking is a powerful skill that transcends personal and professional boundaries, enabling individuals to effectively communicate their ideas and experiences.

Success in various life aspects like job interviews and business presentations hinges on mastering speaking fundamentals. One of the most potent tools in a public speaker’s arsenal is an engaging speaking voice combined with the power of storytelling.

Anecdotes and narratives are much more memorable than statistics. People usually remember these stories long after a speech has been forgotten..

Understanding various public speaking types, the significance of speech writing and organization, and strategies to alleviate public speaking anxiety are key to enhancing your presentation skills and becoming a skilled speaker.

By following a basic speech model and leveraging rehearsal methods, you can confidently deliver impactful presentations that resonate with your audience.

Types of Public Speaking

Public speaking comes in various forms, each serving a distinct purpose. The primary public speaking competencies include:

• Ceremonial speaking: employed to commemorate notable events, such as weddings or graduations, and often features an introductory speech.
• Demonstrative speaking: used to demonstrate or explain a process or concept .
• Informative speaking: focuses on providing information or educating the audience on a specific topic.
• Persuasive speaking: aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take a specific action.

Demonstrative speaking showcases a technique or procedure, like cooking or painting, and practicing a key point speech can help improve this skill. Informative speaking aims to inform an audience about a specific topic, such as a newly released product or current event.

Persuasive speaking, on the other hand, seeks to convince an audience to take a specific action, like voting for a candidate or purchasing a product. Successfully curbing speech apprehension is key to delivering persuasive speeches that connect with your audience.

The Importance of Public Speaking Skills

Public speaking is a highly sought-after skill by employers, as it helps individuals deliver impactful presentations and effectively communicate their ideas. Various professions require public speaking skills, such as:

• Nursing professionals providing training presentations to new parents
• Accountants advocating for new software within their organizations
• Managers leading team meetings that may include delivering a final key point speech

Taking a public speaking course offers numerous advantages, such as:

• Acquiring research, organizational, and presentational skills that can be applied in future classes and professional settings
• Gaining proficiency in physical delivery, which significantly contributes to a speaker’s credibility
• Developing fundamental aspects of the primary public speaking competencies

Mastering the Fundamentals of Public Speaking

Mastering the basics of public speaking, including speech writing, delivery, and anxiety reduction, is pivotal to excel in this field. Rehearsing is the key to building confidence and fluency in your speech, especially when practicing a key point speech.

By focusing on master speaking fundamentals, you’ll be well on your way to success in this domain.

Here are some crucial components of effective public speaking rehearsal:

• Practice out loud
• Stand up while practicing
• Ideally, have someone listen and provide feedback
• Use visual aids

By incorporating these elements into your rehearsal process, you can improve your public speaking skills and deliver a more impactful speech.

Adhering to predetermined time limits is another essential aspect of public speaking, as it demonstrates preparedness and consideration for your audience.

Coherent speech structuring and effective time management are essential for delivering captivating and impactful presentations.

Speech Writing and Organization

A clear and concise message is crucial for effective speech writing, ensuring your speech is well-structured and captivating. To ensure effective speech writing and organization, follow these steps:

• Outline the main points of your speech.
• Devise an introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Arrange the content in a coherent order.
• Use straightforward language and avoid technical terminology.
• Employ transitions to bridge concepts.
• Rehearse the speech in advance.

Following these steps, you can structure speeches coherently, creating a well-structured and captivating final speech.

Concentrating on these crucial elements of speech writing and organization lets you craft captivating presentations that effectively seize your audience’s attention and convey your message. Mastering this skill is crucial for anyone looking to excel in public speaking , whether you’re delivering an hour-long presentation or a short elevator talk.

Delivering Engaging Presentations

Delivering engaging presentations involves more than just eloquent speech; it requires effective body language, vocal variety, and audience engagement.

To deliver an engaging presentation, keep it straightforward, avoid using excessive slides or bullet points, and make your presentation interactive with icebreakers, quizzes, or audience participation. Speak slowly and articulately, maintain good posture, and make eye contact to ensure your audience can follow.

Furthermore, to deliver engaging presentations that leave a lasting impact on your audience, you should:

• Establish a positive and engaging atmosphere by smiling and appearing relaxed
• Recognize your purpose and audience to plan and structure your content accordingly
• Incorporate storytelling techniques to make your presentation more compelling
• Pay attention to design elements to enhance visual appeal
• Rehearse your presentation to ensure smooth delivery
• Be prepared for audience questions or technology failures

By focusing on these aspects, you can deliver engaging presentations that leave a lasting impact on your audience.

Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety

Public speaking anxiety is a common challenge many individuals face, but it can be overcome with practical advice and techniques. Acts of kindness and generosity may help activate the vagus nerve, reducing anxiety’s physical and psychological symptoms, such as increased heart rate, sweating, and fear.

Preparation and visualization are also crucial in combating public speaking anxiety: practicing your speech and visualizing yourself delivering a successful speech can help build confidence. Discussing speech apprehension with others who share similar experiences is also helpful.

Tackling public speaking anxiety and employing these strategies can help you conquer fear, boost confidence, and become proficient speakers.

Remember, the more you practice and apply these techniques, the better you will become at managing public speaking anxiety and delivering impactful presentations.

Elevator Speeches and Key Point Speeches

Elevator and key point speeches are concise presentations used to quickly and effectively communicate a message to an audience.

An effective elevator speech requires a succinct introduction, key points, and a strong conclusion. Similarly, preparing and presenting key point speeches involves focusing on the main points, incorporating visuals to reinforce the message, and rehearsing the speech before delivery.

Whether you need to pitch an idea to your boss in a short elevator talk or deliver a final key point speech at a conference, mastering these speech types is essential for successful public speaking. Emphasizing clarity and brevity guarantees effective message delivery that connects with your audience.

Crafting an Effective Elevator Speech

An effective elevator speech is concise, clear, and captivating, enabling you to communicate your message within a limited timeframe. When formulating an elevator speech, it’s crucial to articulate what you do, your unique selling proposition (USP), and any other pertinent information.

Engage your audience by asking questions or making a statement that prompts them to think about the subject.

A compelling elevator speech enables you to make a lasting impression on your audience during networking, product pitching, or self-introduction at an event. Remember, practice makes perfect: rehearse your practice elevator speech to refine your delivery and ensure your message is clear and impactful.

Preparing and Presenting Point Speeches

Key point speeches focus on the principal message of your talk, delivering it clearly and concisely. To create and deliver an effective key point speech, practice key point speech techniques by straightforwardly articulating the essential points and centering on the primary message of your speech.

Organize the key points into a logical structure, such as chronological order, cause and effect, or problem-solution. Rehearse your speech aloud, with appropriate pauses and emphasis on important points, to ensure a smooth delivery.

Continuous practice and preparation empower you to deliver engaging key point speeches that communicate your message effectively and strike a chord with your audience.

The Communication Process in Public Speaking

The communication process in public speaking involves the speaker constructing a structured message, encoding it using symbols and nonverbal means, and transmitting it through the visual/oral channel to the audience members.

The transactional communication model plays a crucial role in public speaking, emphasizing the mutual influence and simultaneous encoding and decoding of messages by both the speaker and the audience.

Understanding this communication process is vital for effective public speaking, as it highlights the importance of audience engagement and the need for the speaker to adapt their message to the audience’s requirements and expectations. Mastering the communication process enables you to connect better with your audience and deliver impactful presentations.

Understanding the Transactional Model of Communication

The transactional communication model is a two-way process in which the speaker and the audience exchange information, emphasizing the mutual influence and simultaneous encoding and decoding of messages.

This model differs from the linear communication model, which is unidirectional and does not account for the reciprocal nature of communication.

In public speaking, the transactional model is integral, as it underscores the significance of the audience in the communication process.

Comprehending this model allows speakers to tailor their messages to their audience’s needs and expectations, guaranteeing effective communication and a robust connection with the audience.

Adapting to Different Audiences

Adapting to different audiences is an essential skill in public speaking, allowing speakers to tailor their presentations to meet diverse needs and expectations.

To customize presentations, research your audience, understand their expectations, and modify your presentation’s content, delivery, and language accordingly.

Adjust the content of your presentation by selecting topics relevant to the audience, using recognizable examples, and providing trustworthy evidence. Tailor your delivery by speaking at an appropriate rate, using suitable gestures and body language, and maintaining eye contact.

Finally, adapt the language of your presentation by using suitable vocabulary, avoiding jargon, and employing culturally appropriate language for your audience.

Adapting to different audiences guarantees that your message connects with your listeners, leading to more impactful presentations.

Tips for Successful Public Speaking

To excel in public speaking, leverage rehearsal methods and utilize stories and anecdotes to captivate your audience. Rehearsing your speech can help build confidence, hone presentation skills, and refine your delivery.

By incorporating stories and anecdotes in your speech, you can create a personal connection with your audience and make your speech more engaging and memorable.

This section will explore various rehearsal methods for enhancing your public speaking abilities and the effectiveness of using stories and anecdotes for audience engagement.

By implementing these tips, you can become a more accomplished speaker and leave a lasting impression on your listeners.

Leveraging Rehearsal Methods

Rehearsal methods, such as practicing your speech aloud, recording yourself speaking, and using visual aids to recall key points, are essential for developing confidence and honing presentation abilities. Coached rehearsals, where you receive feedback and guidance from a coach or mentor, can help improve performance.

Recording rehearsals enables you to evaluate your performance, identify areas for improvement, and make adjustments based on feedback and personal assessment. These rehearsal methods let you polish your public speaking skills, conquer anxiety, and deliver impactful presentations that connect with your audience.

Utilizing Stories and Anecdotes

Stories and anecdotes are powerful tools for engaging and connecting with audiences during public speaking. Concrete examples and visuals can make stories and anecdotes more engaging and memorable.

Organize your stories using a distinct beginning, progression, and conclusion, and employ the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, and Result) to structure your narrative effectively.

Incorporating stories and anecdotes in your speech can:

• Engage your audience
• Clarify complex concepts
• Stir emotions
• Make your speech more impactful

Additionally, stories can provide a personal connection to the topic, making it more relatable and engaging for your listeners.

Public Speaking in Virtual Settings

Public speaking in virtual settings, such as online conferences or webinars, presents unique challenges and opportunities compared to traditional face-to-face interactions.

Technical difficulties, such as poor audio or video quality, can hinder effective communication, but virtual settings also offer advantages like broader audience reach and more efficient use of visual aids.

Modifying traditional public speaking skills to suit the virtual environment is key to thriving in the digital age. By engaging the audience, utilizing visual aids effectively, and upholding clear and concise communication, you can excel in virtual public speaking and make a lasting impact on your audience.

Throughout this blog post, we have explored the various aspects of public speaking, from understanding its importance and mastering the fundamentals to adapting to different audiences and excelling in virtual settings.

By following the tips and strategies discussed, you can develop the skills necessary to deliver captivating speeches and presentations that leave a lasting impression on your listeners.

Whether you’re a novice speaker or an experienced orator, the “Introduction to Public Speaking” Coursera course offers a comprehensive guide to refining your skills and achieving success in public speaking . Embrace the power of effective communication, and let your voice be heard.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you introduce public speaking.

Introducing a public speaking event can effectively engage the audience with relatable quotes, jokes, commonalities, survey questions, or personal experiences. Additionally, pose a problem or provide a statistic to make the speech more interesting and garner attention.

What are the 5 P’s of public speaking?

The 5Ps of public speaking – planning, preparation, practice, performance, and passion – are essential elements for a successful presentation.

How to learn public speaking?

To learn public speaking, study and practice great speakers, use body language to relax, control your voice and breath, prepare talking points, know your audience, incorporate visual aid, rehearse, and record your speeches.

What are the different types of public speaking?

Public speaking comes in four forms: ceremonial, demonstrative, informative, and persuasive.

How can I overcome public speaking anxiety?

Be kind to yourself, prepare thoroughly and rehearse regularly to overcome public speaking anxiety.

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The skill you need now: presentation literacy

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TED curator Chris Anderson discusses the transformative power of speaking to an audience from the heart.

You’re nervous, right?

Stepping out onto a public stage and having hundreds of pairs of eyes turned your way is terrifying. You dread having to stand up in a company meeting and present your project. What if you get nervous and stumble over your words? What if you completely forget what you were going to say? Maybe you’ll be humiliated! Maybe your career will crater! Maybe the idea you believe in will stay buried forever!

But guess what? Almost everyone has experienced the fear of public speaking. Indeed, surveys that ask people to list their top fears often report public speaking as the most widely selected, ahead of snakes, heights — and even death.

How can this be? There is no tarantula hidden behind the microphone. You have zero risk of plunging off the stage to your death. The audience will not attack you with pitchforks. Then why the anxiety?

It’s because there’s a lot at stake — not just the experience in the moment, but in our longer-term reputation. How others think of us matters hugely. We are profoundly social animals. We crave each other’s affection, respect and support. Our future happiness depends on these realities to a shocking degree. And we sense that what happens on a public stage is going to affect these social currencies, for better or worse. But with the right mindset, you can use your fear as an incredible asset. It can be the driver that will persuade you to prepare for a talk properly.

That’s what happened when Monica Lewinsky (TED Talk: The price of shame ) came to the TED stage. For her, the stakes couldn’t have been higher. Seventeen years earlier, she had been through the most humiliating public exposure imaginable, an experience so intense it almost broke her. Now she was attempting a return to a more visible public life, to reclaim her narrative. But she was not an experienced public speaker, and she knew that it would be disastrous if she messed up. She told me:

“Nervous is too mild a word to describe how I felt. More like . . . Gutted with trepidation. Bolts of fear. Electric anxiety. If we could have harnessed the power of my nerves that morning, I think the energy crisis would have been solved. Not only was I stepping out onto a stage in front of an esteemed and brilliant crowd, but it was also videotaped, with the high likelihood of being made public on a widely viewed platform. I was visited by the echoes of lingering trauma from years of having been publicly ridiculed. Plagued by a deep insecurity I didn’t belong on the TED stage. That was the inner experience against which I battled.”

And yet Monica found a way to turn that fear around. Her talk won a standing ovation at the event, rocketed to a million views within a few days and earned rave reviews online. It even prompted a public apology to her from a longtime critic, feminist author Erica Jong.

The brilliant woman I am married to, Jacqueline Novogratz (TED Talk: Inspiring a life of immersion ), was also haunted by fear of public speaking. In school, at college and into her twenties, the prospect of a microphone and watching eyes was so scary it was debilitating. But she knew that to advance her work fighting poverty, she’d have to persuade others, and so she just began forcing herself to do it. Today she gives scores of speeches every year, often earning standing ovations.

Indeed, everywhere you look, there are stories of people who were terrified of public speaking but found a way to become really good at it, from Eleanor Roosevelt to Warren Buffett to Princess Diana, who was known to all as “shy Di,” but found a way to speak informally in her own voice, and the world fell in love with her.

If you can get a talk right, the upside can be amazing. Take the talk that entrepreneur Elon Musk (TED Talk: The mind behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity … ) gave to SpaceX employees on August 2, 2008. Musk was not known as a great public speaker. But that day, his words marked an important turning point for his company. SpaceX had already suffered two failed launches. This was the day of the third launch, and everyone knew failure could force the company’s closure. The Falcon rocket soared off the launch pad, but right after the first stage fell away, disaster struck. The spacecraft exploded. The video feed went dead. Some 350 employees had gathered and, as described by Dolly Singh, the company’s head of talent acquisition, the mood was thick with despair. Musk emerged to speak to them. He told them they’d always known it would be hard, but that despite what had happened, they had already accomplished something that day that few nations, let alone companies, had achieved. They had successfully completed the first stage of a launch and taken a spacecraft to outer space. They simply had to pick themselves up and get back to work. Here’s how Singh described the talk’s climax:

Then Elon said, with as much fortitude and ferocity as he could muster after having been awake for like 20+ hours by this point, “For my part, I will never give up and I mean never.” I think most of us would have followed him into the gates of hell carrying suntan oil after that. It was the most impressive display of leadership that I have ever witnessed. Within moments the energy of the building went from despair and defeat to a massive buzz of determination as people began to focus on moving forward instead of looking back.

That’s the power of a single talk. You might not be leading an organization, but a talk can still open new doors or transform a career.

TED speakers have told us delightful stories of the impact of their talks. Yes, there are sometimes book and movie offers, higher speaking fees and unexpected offers of financial support. But the most appealing stories are of ideas advanced, and lives changed. Young Malawian inventor William Kamkwamba’s inspiring talk about building a windmill in his village as a 14-year-old (TED Talk: How I harnessed the wind ) sparked a series of events that led to him being accepted into an engineering program at Dartmouth College.

Here’s a story from my own life: When I first took over leadership of TED in late 2001, I was reeling from the near collapse of the company I had spent 15 years building, and I was terrified of another huge public failure. I had been struggling to persuade the TED community to back my vision for TED, and I feared that it might just fizzle out. Back then, TED was an annual conference in California, owned and hosted by a charismatic architect named Richard Saul Wurman, whose larger-than-life presence infused every aspect of the conference. About 800 people attended every year, and most of them seemed resigned to the fact that TED probably couldn’t survive once Wurman departed. The TED conference of February 2002 was the last to be held under his leadership, and I had one chance and one chance only to persuade TED attendees that the conference would continue just fine. I had never run a conference before, however, and despite my best efforts at marketing the following year’s event, only 70 people had signed up for it.

Early on the last morning of that conference, I had 15 minutes to make my case. And here’s what you need to know about me: I am not naturally a great speaker. I say “um” and “you know” far too often. I will stop halfway through a sentence, trying to find the right word to continue. I can sound overly earnest, soft spoken, conceptual. My quirky British sense of humor is not always shared by others.

I was so nervous about this moment, and so worried that I would look awkward on the stage, that I couldn’t even bring myself to stand. Instead I rolled forward a chair from the back of the stage, sat on it and began.

I look back at that talk now and cringe — a lot. If I were critiquing it today, there are a hundred things I would change, starting with the wrinkly white T-shirt I was wearing. And yet … I had prepared carefully what I wanted to say, and I knew there were at least some in the audience desperate for TED to survive. If I could just give those supporters a reason to get excited, perhaps they would turn things around. Because of the recent dotcom bust, many in the audience had suffered business losses as bad as my own. Maybe I could connect with them that way?

I spoke from the heart, with as much openness and conviction as I could summon. I told people I had just gone through a massive business failure. That I’d come to think of myself as a complete loser. That the only way I’d survived mentally was by immersing myself in the world of ideas. That TED had come to mean the world to me — that it was a unique place where ideas from every discipline could be shared. That I would do all in my power to preserve its best values. That, in any case, the conference had brought such intense inspiration and learning to us that we couldn’t possibly let it die … could we?

Oh, and I broke the tension with an apocryphal anecdote about France’s Madame de Gaulle and how she shocked guests at a diplomatic dinner by expressing her desire for “a penis.” In England, I said, we also had that desire, although there we pronounced it happiness and TED had brought genuine happiness my way.

To my utter amazement, at the end of the talk, Jeff Bezos, the head of Amazon, who was seated in the center of the audience, rose to his feet and began clapping. And the whole room stood with him. It was as if the TED community had collectively decided, in just a few seconds, that it would support this new chapter of TED after all. And in the 60-minute break that followed, some 200 people committed to buying passes for the following year’s conference, guaranteeing its success.

If that 15-minute talk had fizzled, TED would have died, four years before ever putting a talk on the Internet.

No matter how little confidence you might have today in your ability to speak in public, there are things you can do to turn that around. Facility with public speaking is not a gift granted at birth to a lucky few. It’s a broad-ranging set of skills. There are hundreds of ways to give a talk, and everyone can find an approach that’s right for them and learn the skills necessary to do it well.

Several years ago, TED’s content director, Kelly Stoetzel, and I went on a global tour in search of speaking talent. In Nairobi, Kenya, we met Richard Turere, a 12-year-old Maasai boy who had come up with a surprising invention. His family raised cattle, and one of the biggest challenges was protecting them at night from lion attacks. Richard had noticed that a stationary campfire didn’t deter the lions, but walking around waving a torch did seem to work. The lions were apparently afraid of moving lights! Richard had somehow taught himself electronics by messing around with parts taken from his parents’ radio. He used that knowledge to devise a system of lights that would turn on and off in sequence, creating a sense of movement. It was built from scrapyard parts — solar panels, a car battery and a motorcycle indicator box. He installed the lights and — presto! — the lion attacks stopped. News of his invention spread and other villages wanted in. Instead of seeking to kill the lions as they had done before, they installed Richard’s “lion lights.” Both villagers and pro-lion environmentalists were happy.

It was an impressive achievement but, at first glance, Richard certainly seemed an unlikely TED speaker. He stood hunched over in a corner of the room, painfully shy. His English was halting, and he struggled to describe his invention coherently. It was hard to imagine him on a stage in California in front of 1,400 people, slotted alongside Sergey Brin and Bill Gates.

But Richard’s story was so compelling that we went ahead anyway and invited him to come speak at TED (TED Talk: My invention that made peace with lions ). In the months before the conference, we worked with him to frame his story — to find the right place to begin, and to develop a natural narrative sequence. Because of his invention, Richard had won a scholarship to one of Kenya’s best schools, where he had the chance to practice his TED Talk several times in front of a live audience. This helped build his confidence to the point where his personality could shine through.

He got on an airplane for the first time in his life and flew to Long Beach, California. As he walked onto the TED stage, you could tell he was nervous, but that only made him more engaging. As Richard spoke, people were hanging on his every word, and every time he smiled, the audience melted. When he finished, people just stood and cheered.

Richard’s tale can encourage us all to believe we might be able to give a decent talk. Your goal is not to be Winston Churchill or Nelson Mandela. It’s to be you. If you’re a scientist, be a scientist; don’t try to be an activist. If you’re an artist, be an artist; don’t try to be an academic. If you’re just an ordinary person, don’t try to fake some big intellectual style; just be you. You don’t have to raise a crowd to its feet with a thunderous oration. Conversational sharing can work just as well. In fact, for most audiences, it’s a lot better. If you know how to talk to a group of friends over dinner, then you know enough to speak publicly.

And technology is opening up new options. We live in an age where you don’t have to be able to speak to thousands of people at a time to have an outsized impact. It could just be you talking intimately to a video camera, and letting the Internet do the rest.

Presentation literacy isn’t an optional extra for the few. It’s a core skill for the twenty-first century. It’s the most impactful way to share who you are and what you care about. If you can learn to do it, your self-confidence will flourish, and you may be amazed at the beneficial impact it can have on your success in life, however you might choose to define that.

If you commit to being the authentic you, I am certain that you will be capable of tapping into the ancient art that is wired inside us. You simply have to pluck up the courage to try.

Excerpted from the book TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking by Chris Anderson. © 2016 by Chris Anderson. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

About the author

Chris Anderson is the curator of TED.

• book excerpt
• Chris Anderson
• Jacqueline Novogratz
• Monica Lewinsky
• presentation literacy
• public speaking
• Richard Turere
• William Kamkwamba

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The Art of Public Speaking

Blend Images - Hill Street Studios / Getty Images

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

Public speaking is an oral presentation in which a speaker addresses an audience , and until the 20th century, public speakers were usually referred to as orators and their discourses as orations. 

A century ago, in his "Handbook of Public Speaking," John Dolman observed that public speaking is significantly different from a theatrical performance in that it is   "not a conventionalized imitation of life, but life itself, a natural function of life, a real human being in real communication with his fellows; and it is best when it is most real."

Unlike its predecessor oration, public speaking involves an interplay of not only body language and recitation, but on conversation , delivery , and feedback . Public speaking today is more about the audience's reaction and participation than an orations' technical correctness.

Six Steps to Successful Public Speaking 

According to John. N Gardner and A. Jerome Jewler's "Your College Experience," there a six steps to creating a successful public speech:

• Clarify your objective.
• Analyze your audience.
• Collect and organize your information.
• Choose your visual aids.
• Prepare your notes.
• Practice your delivery.

As language has evolved over time, these principals have become even more apparent and essential in speaking well in a public capacity. Stephen Lucas says in "Public Speaking" that languages have become "more colloquial" and speech delivery "more conversational" as "more and more citizens of ordinary means took to the rostrum, audiences no longer regarded the orator as a larger-than-life figure to be regarded with awe and deference.

As a result, most modern audiences favor straightforwardness and honesty, authenticity to the oratory tricks of old. Public speakers, then, must strive to convey their objective directly to the audience they will be speaking in front of, collecting information, visual aids, and notes that will best serve the speakers' honesty and integrity of delivery.

Public Speaking in the Modern Context

From business leaders to politicians, many professionals in modern times use public speaking to inform, motivate, or persuade audiences near and far, though in the last few centuries the art of public speaking has moved beyond the stiff orations of old to a more casual conversation that contemporary audiences prefer.

Courtland L. Bovée notes in "Contemporary Public Speaking" that while basic speaking skills have changed little, "styles in public speaking have." Whereas the early 19th century carried with it the popularity of the recitation of classic speeches, the 20th century brought a change in focus to elocution. Today, Bovée notes, "the emphasis is on extemporaneous speaking, giving a speech that has been planned in advance but is delivered spontaneously."

The internet, too, has helped change the face of modern public speaking with advents of "going live" on Facebook and Twitter and recording speeches for later broadcast to a global audience on Youtube. However, as Peggy Noonan puts it in "What I Saw at the Revolution":

"Speeches are important because they are one of the great constants of our political history; for two hundred years they have been changing — making, forcing — history."

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More From Forbes

Quotes for inspiration ahead of your next presentation.

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George Washington before the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia, 1787.

Since the dawn of humankind, speaking in front of a large audience has been, and remains, a daunting task. So daunting, in fact, that many of us are paralyzed with fear when required to make a speech or presentation. Therefore, for anyone seeking inspiration before preparing their next oral presentation, here are a few useful quotes on the art of public speaking – from writing a speech, to rehearsing it, to ultimately delivering it on stage.

Transposing a flurry of ideas in your head into short, clear sentences on a page is arguably the hardest and most time-consuming part of preparation. “That which is well conceived becomes clearly enunciated, and the words to say it come effortlessly.” French poet Nicolas Boileau, writing in 1674, provides a useful reminder that before clear writing and clear speaking comes clear thinking. No idea can be convincingly delivered if it hasn’t first been revamped into simpler, more direct language. Complex ideas, structures and expressions rarely sway audiences, who tune-out what they don’t immediately grasp.

As humbling as it may be to admit, audiences rarely give speakers the kind of undivided attention and active listening that speakers expect. Therefore, time management is key. Remember to KISS ( K eep I t S hort & S imple) since audience attention fades quickly. Thomas Jefferson writing to a friend in 1773, said, “ The most valuable of all talents is never using two words when one will do. ” The impact and memorability of a presentation is a function of how much meaning is packed into the shortest amount of speaking time. Think of it like an equation: Impact = amount of meaning divided by number of words.

Or, to put it back into plain English: cutting unnecessary words will boost the impact of your speech. For example:

• Use a stronger verb to replace a vague verb + adverb (‘run,’ versus ‘go quickly,’ uses 1 word instead of 2.)
• Use the active voice in place of the passive voice (‘Phillip sang a song,’ versus, ‘A song was sung by Phillip,’ uses 4 words instead of 6.)
• Use plain language, words understood by the widest audience (to ‘send’ versus to ‘dispatch’ )

On Rehearsal

“ A study said speaking in front of a crowd is considered the number one fear of the average person…Number two is death. ” Comedian Jerry Seinfeld created a memorable bit out of this relatable fear.

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You can overcome stage fright through rehearsal. Americans are fond of saying “fake it ‘till you make it,” and perhaps there is a nugget of truth to this expression when it comes to public speaking. In 1879, Mark Twain put it this way, “I never could make a good impromptu speech without several hours to prepare it.” A good speech should appear effortless, almost spontaneous, as if spoken confidently from a place of genuine personal belief, rather than recited from a prepared script. But, just like changing a golf swing, making a speech appear natural and effortless takes many repetitions.

Practice does make perfect and, more importantly, builds self-confidence. Tennis legend Arthur Ashe reminds us, “The key to success is self-confidence. The key to self-confidence is preparation.” Therefore, always make time for many rehearsals.

On Delivery

Whether you rehearse in front of a mirror, or your team, or in an auditorium, your performance will benefit from these run-throughs. You can use these opportunities to experiment with vocal variety, body language, and pauses for emphasis. Additionally, you will likely make edits to your text as you identify wordy, hard-to-deliver sentences that could be cut to make the speech crisper.

Beyond the technical aspects of flawless delivery, it is even more important to connect emotionally with your audience. A perfectly delivered speech that makes no audience connection is less memorable that an imperfectly delivered speech that engages the audience. In the words of American author Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you said […] but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

When you don’t connect with the audience, your words, however well-conceived and rehearsed, will fall flat. However, the notion of audience connection is often misunderstood: creating connection with an audience does not require you to be emotional. Being relatable to an audience is enough, and this can be achieved through a well-placed anecdote, by appearing comfortable on stage, or by sharing your enthusiasm for your presentation.

In conclusion, since you will likely give more than one presentation during your career, keep in mind Winston Churchill’s definition of success. “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

As we’ve seen from some of history’s most quotable, whether the year be 1674 or 2024, successful presentations follow a time-tested playbook, from preparation through to delivery.

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