Public Speaking

It is to their skills as orators that many great leaders owe their fame. The great speeches of Elizabeth I, Winston Churchill, and John F. Kennedy are as memorable as their achievements. Being an effective speaker is still one of the best ways of achieving prominence in public life, as well as of influencing others in your private and business life. And as with so many other things in life, success in public speaking depends on both careful preparation and careful presentation.

• Your preparation. Some people are so nervous about a public speaking engagement that they put off thinking about it, and end up by being inadequately prepared. Preparation is essential - to choose and organise appropriate material, to rehearse adequately, and to build up your confidence. Give yourself plenty of time - ideally a few weeks - to prepare your speech.

• Your presentation. Effective speakers pay as much attention to style as to content, to how they will speak and look, as to what they will say. A speaker may make the mistake of spending great deal of time working on the content of an address, without ever rehearsing it aloud and considering the use of body and voice. Yet audiences probably respond to and remember the speaker's personality even more than his or her actual words. Aim to finish preparing the content of your speech early, to allow you to rehearse and refine it.