I offer this (embedded below, from here: A Show with Ze Frank: How to Public Speaking) as a sort of corollary to what I wrote here (about the Worst Speech I Ever Gave). Ze’s method isn’t 100 percent my method, but we have a lot in common (specifically the edict to practice start-to-finish in a room alone, without stopping and starting or giving yourself redos)–and those were exactly the things I *didn’t* do in prepping for the Worst Speech Ever. Lived; learned.
My one addition to what Ze suggests here is this: As much as possible, avoid Giving a Speech, and instead Have a Conversation. By its nature, this is going to be a one sided conversation–because only one person in the room has a mic–but that’s OK; we’ve each been guilty of holding the floor past our turn. The trick is to talk to the people, not the mic: make eye contact, say specific sentences to specific people, try to LOL a specific guy. Just talk.
So, lessons learned–and shared with you! Enjoy!
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