Relay your ideas to your audience in small, digestible bits. Use understandable words and language. It is best that you deliver your speech clearly and concisely — work on getting straight to the point. 

The greatest mistake you can make when preparing your speech is to bank on a positive response from the audience. The burden of making the presentation lively and engaging lies squarely on your shoulders. The audience is not obligated to buy your products or agree with your ideas. In fact, they don’t have to like you or follow you on social media. It is your job to engage the audience and make them see value in your presentation and teach them something valuable. You need to inspire them into buying your subscription, product, or idea. Prepare to give, not to take. 

People notice even the slightest changes in body language. In fact, studies show that for every 15-minute presentation, the audience spends 93% of the time focusing on your facial expressions, gestures, and body movement. What comes from your mouth contributes to only 7% of your speech’s failure or success. 

Some of the important non-verbal speaking skills that you can cultivate include:

Instead of reading a pre-written speech, it is better to write down the most important notes, and then use them as a guide to where you need to go with the address. In fact, delivering valid points without constantly checking your notes will give your audience the impression that you are very knowledgeable in the subject matter.

Choose a spot in the audience and look directly at the people within that spot for an entire sentence or thought. Don’t break eye contact until the idea gets home. Shift to another spot for the subsequent thought. Focusing on one person disconnects you from the thousands of people in the room and makes it appear like you are in face-to-face interaction with just one person.

After you are done delivering your speech, take the event’s recordings and scrutinize your performance. Identify the areas that you need to improve on, the habits you need to discard, and the techniques you should keep in your subsequent addresses. 

It is normal to feel butterflies in your stomach during your first public speaking session. Allow yourself to feel the pressure, but don’t let the pressure affect your confidence. It will only take you a couple of minutes to feel comfortable. Get yourself through the opening minutes, and everything will fall into place as you interact with the audience.