How to Deliver Effective Speeches

Know How to Handle Nervousness

• It's just a speech. Your life does not depend on it (at least, not in most cases). But if the thought of going out there and completely freezing up makes you freeze up just thinking about it, go through some of these relaxing exercises just prior to your performance.

  Physical preparation:

  *The night before, don't eat dairy or drink milk. They cause you to phlegm up. Also avoid soda, coffee, tea or other caffeinated drinks for at least 1 hour before the speech. They'll just make you even more antsy.

  *The morning of your speech, brush your teeth and use mouthwash. A clean mouth is a happy mouth.

  *Look presentable. Dress in nice clothes, comb your hair, do your nails and groom yourself so you look as nice as possible. As the saying goes, "Dress to impress." The nicer you look, the more credibility you'll have with the audience.

  *Go to the bathroom about 30 minutes before the speech.

  *Deep-breathing exercises may seem cheesy, but they really slow your heart rate, lower your blood pressure and reduce your adrenaline flow. So try breathing in through your nose, holding your breath for 5 seconds and breathing out through your mouth. Do this at least three times, but don't go over six, or you may either keel over or start to hyperventilate.

  *If hand gestures are a part of your presentation, shake up your hands to get the blood going. This exercise will make it more natural for you to move them around during the performance.

  *Vocal exercises can help. Prepare your mouth by running through your speech at full voice several times. If you screw up, just keep remembering that the audience won't have a text and see where you screwed up. Just move on as if nothing happened.

  *Most importantly, be confident. Even if you're not, the better you fake it, the more comfortable the audience will be with you--and thus, the more positive vibes they'll throw your way.

  Mental preparation:

  Think these comforting thoughts (and true facts) before and during your presentation:

  "The audience's initial impression of me is made within the first 3 seconds of my appearance." This can be used to your advantage, because if you make sure you walk onto the stage with a bright smile and confident posture, you already have it made.

  "I look better than I feel." Everyone feels like a wreck when they first get up there, but most don't look like one. In fact, most people who videotape themselves giving a rehearsal presentation are pleasantly surprised to find out that their wildly beating heart actually doesn't show up on the tape.

  "The audience wants me to succeed!" An audience is made up of people who are not unlike you. They are not bloodthirsty animals. They came to hear you because you have something important to say. Also, because they don't want their time to be wasted, it's in their best interest for you to succeed.

  "A mistake will not matter much." Granted, people won't forget a nasty belch in the middle of a serious point, but completely ignore stumbles or slight pauses. Just move on. Most people won't notice your mistakes unless you draw attention to them by panicking.

  "The single best way to have a successful presentation is to prepare properly…and I have!" (Right?)

  The average audience actually expects a speaker to be a complete snooze, and because you've made at least made an effort to do your presentation right, you are already going above and beyond the audience's expectations.