What's the key to becoming a great public speaker?

Lots and Lots of practice, failure and humiliation - until you can talk on queue about anything with confidence and not be rattled by strangers... Toast Masters is the Answer!

I found the organization Toastmaster Interenational worked for me. You join a local club, usually there are people you know there and then they guide you through a series of speeches that help you gain confidence and hone your expertise. It helped me quite a bit. I went from being terrified to entering speech competitions. Now I love public speaking. Don't get me wrong, I'm a nervous wreck before and after, however, now at least the butterflies in my stomach are fiying in formation. Check out your local Toastmaster's club :)

Discipline, experience as well as research

Fearlessness; friends who support you, need for income(that really was how I had to become a good speaker) Confidence in my topic; I wish I had taked drama or debate in school. I wonder if starting young might help? My oldest began singing in front of church before age ten. She leads large groups of youth now. I think personality plays a role

Speak only to individuals. A group is composed of individuals. When you speak to individuals, the others in the group feel you are also speaking to them; when you speak to a "group" no one feels you are speaking to any one person.

Know your subject inside and out, because this builds confidence. Audiences like a confident speaker - after all, they have "elected" you to speak while they listen. Audiences like certainty; someone who is confident instills confidence in others.

Never worry about what you forget. The audience does not know you forgot, but they do know what you did say.

Consider when you are at the podium that there are individuals in front of you. A group is composed of individuals who have elected you to speak while they listen. If you speak confidently with certainty... keep reading →