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" I go on TV every morning. I speak at 200 events a year. And you know what? Every single time, my heart races, I sweat, and I get shaky. There&amp;#039;s just something so inherently personal and raw about speaking in front of a group. But I&amp;#039;ve learned a few things over the years that make it a little easier. Find Some Guinea Pigs Presenting to a group of top execs at your company? Not the time to discover nervous habits like biting your nails, raising your voice three octaves, or talking faster than Shoshanna on Girls. (All are normal physical responses to stressful situations, BTW.) Practice by finding low-stakes opportunities to speak up\u2014talk in church or make a toast at a family dinner\u2026bonus points if you have a friend record you with her smartphone. You&amp;#039;ll see and hear things that will horrify you, but that&amp;#039;s the only way to fix them. Prepare in Advance Before I&amp;#039;m center stage, I write an outline that includes the major points I want to make, any personal stories I can share to drive those points home, one to three pieces of advice, and a concluding idea. That&amp;#039;s my recipe for a good presentation. I don&amp;#039;t memorize\u2014it sounds robotic\u2014but I do have key words in mind that I know I want to hit on. I experiment with different volumes and tempos. It&amp;#039;s powerful to plan for pauses, slowing down to drive home a point. Channel Your Inner Beyonc\u00E9 Okay, you&amp;#039;re almost on. Head to a bathroom or somewhere private, and loosen your vocal chords like a singer. Sing scales (seriously!), and take deep breaths to open up your stomach and chest. This will help your voice sound strong, warm, and confident. Embrace the Spotlight It&amp;#039;s go time. Everyone&amp;#039;s looking at you\u2014at your shoes, your outfit, your hair, everything! Accept the attention. Stand on your feet with equal weight. Pull your shoulders back and your stomach in. Look at someone in your audience straight in the eye. Smile. Research shows that adopting a powerful pose changes your behavior to make you feel and act more composed. Make a Confession If you&amp;#039;ve taken all my advice and still feel really anxious as you step up to the microphone, be straight with your audience. Say, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m sorry if I&amp;#039;m shaking a bit\u2014I&amp;#039;m so nervous!&amp;quot; I&amp;#039;ve done that many times. As long as you don&amp;#039;t harp on your anxieties, transparency can be a great icebreaker, and I&amp;#039;ve found it gets the audience on your side. Use Notes If You Need Them I don&amp;#039;t think notes are a crutch\u2014sometimes simply knowing that you have a safety net in case your mind goes blank is the nudge you need for a great delivery. So do whatever it takes to speak with more authority. I&amp;#039;ve even taken a clipboard on television with me to mark off points as I&amp;#039;ve made them. I&amp;#039;ve weaned myself off notes over time, and you will too. Do It All Again I look at myself on Morning Joe now compared with five years ago, and it&amp;#039;s a night-and-day difference. When you speak in public, you sweat and die a little inside, and then you watch your performance and die even more. Then you fix some things, and you do it all again and again and again. Then? You have a good one where it all clicks. And it feels good. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/advice/a4469/speaking-in-public/>