- Stand on both feet. You’ll feel steadier if you know the floor is there, and you’ll look confident.
- Take a deep breath before you start, and in between your points. You need to give your audience time to think about what you’ve just said, so don’t be afraid of the silences. Also, breath is pretty useful for a speaker!
- Don’t get hung up on speaking without notes. You’ve been asked to speak because you have something interesting to say, not because you have a great memory. Have notes in whatever format works for you – number the pages to help you keep track, and fix them firmly together, so they don’t come adrift at an inconvenient moment.
- Presentation slides are not notes. They are for the audience to read while you speak, not for you to read aloud.