The document provides 10 tips for improving public speaking skills. The tips include preparing thoroughly by practicing and knowing the audience well. It also recommends using humor and stories to engage the audience, maintaining eye contact and using visual aids sparingly. The final tips are to grab the audience's attention at the beginning and close strongly. Thorough preparation and practice are emphasized as keys to overcoming nerves and delivering a better speech.

1. Here Are My 10
Tips for Public
Speaking:
1. NERVOUSNESS IS NORMAL.
PRACTICE AND PREPARE!
All people feel some physiological reactions like
pounding hearts and trembling hands. Do not
associate these feelings with the sense that you will
perform poorly or make a fool of yourself. Some
nerves are good. The adrenaline rush that makes
you sweat also makes you more alert and ready to
give your best performance.
The best way to overcome anxiety is to prepare,
prepare, and prepare some more. Take the time to
go over your notes several times. Once you have
become comfortable with the material, practice—a
lot. Videotape yourself, or get a friend to critique
your performance.

2. 2. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. YOUR
SPEECH IS ABOUT THEM, NOT
YOU.
Before you begin to craft your message, consider
who the message is intended for. Learn as much
about your listeners as you can. This will help you
determine your choice of words, level of
information, organization pattern, and motivational
statement.
3. ORGANIZE YOUR MATERIAL IN
THE MOST EFFECTIVE MANNER
TO ATTAIN YOUR PURPOSE.
Create the framework for your speech. Write down
the topic, general purpose, specific purpose, central
idea, and main points. Make sure to grab the
audience’s attention in the first 30 seconds.
4. WATCH FOR FEEDBACK AND
ADAPT TO IT.
Keep the focus on the audience. Gauge their
reactions, adjust your message, and stay flexible.
Delivering a canned speech will guarantee that you
lose the attention of or confuse even the most
devoted listeners.
5. LET YOUR PERSONALITY

3. 10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills
COME THROUGH.
Be yourself, don’t become a talking head—in any
type of communication. You will establish better
credibility if your personality shines through, and
your audience will trust what you have to say if they
can see you as a real person.
6. USE HUMOR, TELL STORIES,
AND USE EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE.
Inject a funny anecdote in your presentation, and
you will certainly grab your audience’s attention.
Audiences generally like a personal touch in a
speech. A story can provide that.
7. DON’T READ UNLESS YOU
HAVE TO. WORK FROM AN
OUTLINE.
Reading from a script or slide fractures the
interpersonal connection. By maintaining eye
contact with the audience, you keep the focus on
yourself and your message. A brief outline can
serve to jog your memory and keep you on task.
8. USE YOUR VOICE AND HANDS
EFFECTIVELY. OMIT NERVOUS
GESTURES.
Nonverbal communication carries most of the
message. Good delivery does not call attention to

4. itself, but instead conveys the speaker’s ideas
clearly and without distraction.
9. GRAB ATTENTION AT THE
BEGINNING, AND CLOSE WITH A
DYNAMIC END.
Do you enjoy hearing a speech start with “Today
I’m going to talk to you about X”? Most people
don’t. Instead, use a startling statistic, an
interesting anecdote, or concise quotation.
Conclude your speech with a summary and a
strong statement that your audience is sure to
remember.
10. USE AUDIOVISUAL AIDS
WISELY.
Too many can break the direct connection to the
audience, so use them sparingly. They should
enhance or clarify your content, or capture and
maintain your audience’s attention.
Practice Does Not
Make Perfect
Good communication is never perfect, and nobody
expects you to be perfect. However, putting in the
requisite time to prepare will help you deliver a

5. https://blog.dce.harvard.edu/professional-development/10-tips-improving-your-public-speaking-skills[2/12/2020 5:06:14 PM]
better speech. You may not be able to shake your
nerves entirely, but you can learn to minimize them.
Stay Up to
Date with
Harvard
Professional
Development
First Name*
Last Name
Email Address*

6. 10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills
https://blog.dce.harvard.edu/professional-development/10-tips-improving-your-public-speaking-skills[2/12/2020 5:06:14 PM]
You May Also Like
How to Recognize & Improve Your Default Public
Speaking Settings
Every time you deliver a speech, you are, in fact, leading. Whether you are a student, an
executive, a politician, or a profe...
12/04/2013 | 6 MINUTE READ
Subscribe to our blog and we'll
alert you when we have a new
post about one of our business
topics from leadership to
innovation.
Communication
Subscribe

7. 10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills
https://blog.dce.harvard.edu/professional-development/10-tips-improving-your-public-speaking-skills[2/12/2020 5:06:14 PM]
Make Your Speech All about the Audience
The key to delivering a successful speech is showing your audience members that you care
about them. You don't want listeners...
11/30/2015 | 8 MINUTE READ
3 Speeches to Inspire Your Own Public Speaking
Delivering a speech can cause even the most confident among us to break a sweat. But
there are many strategies you can use to...
9/29/2020 | 9 MINUTE READ
Communication
Communication

8. 10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills
https://blog.dce.harvard.edu/professional-development/10-tips-improving-your-public-speaking-skills[2/12/2020 5:06:14 PM]
Copyright ©2020 Harvard Division of Continuing Education
Privacy Policy | Digital Accessibility Policy
Load all parameters
Google indexI226
SEMrush backlinksL252
SEMrush subdomain backlinksLD3.86K
Bing indexI12.4K
Alexa rankRank669
Webarchive ageAge2020|05|06
Facebook likesl154
whois
source
SEMrush RankRank188
SEMrush advertiser display adsAdv Disp Ads32.2K
SEMrush publisher display adsPub Disp Ads9.7K
More data
Summary reportDiagnosisDensityExternal links34Internal links14Site auditn/a
More data

9. 10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills
https://blog.dce.harvard.edu/professional-development/10-tips-improving-your-public-speaking-skills[2/12/2020 5:06:14 PM]