Today I’m going to teach you several tips on how to be a great public speaker!

As a Believer in the LORD Jesus Christ, we are never alone. Great is His faithfulness! Hallelujah!

Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]. --Hebrews 13:5, AMPC

I've learned not only to pray and ask the LORD to put His words in my mouth, but to yield to His Spirit, Who is the true Teacher. 

Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we yielded [to them] and respected [them for training us]. Shall we not much more cheerfully submit to the Father of spirits and so [truly] live?--Hebrews 12:9, AMPC

With a big smile, and projecting your voice or speaking clearly into the microphone say, “Can everyone hear me at the back? Wave your hand at me please, if you can.”

If the technology doesn’t work, then you may have to project your voice, or otherwise work around the problems. However, most people have experienced such, and that can be yet another relatable point with the people who have come to hear you.

So, what I just did was the third tip—break the ice with the audience.

This can be done with a joke, a short story relating to the audience, of something as simple as asking (if the one who introduced you did not already take care of this), “Can everyone hear me at the back?” after you give your name and a sentence about what you’re going to share.

When the audience is relaxed and realizes you are a person like they are—yet with information to help them—then they are more likely to receive and remember what you tell them, and some of them will want to learn more from you!

Your main goal is to positively impact your audience. This is especially important if you are bringing the Word to them, or otherwise teaching a lesson to help them learn more of Him. 

The next thing is to do what many professionals suggest: Tell them what you’re going to tell them; tell them; then tell them what you told them.

In other words, you help them focus. This is very important, whether you’re a teacher in a public school classroom, a minister, or a featured TEDEx speaker.

So explain in a sentence or two what your topic will be.

Next, if appropriate, give a very short synopsis of your credentials. In other words, share a sentence or two about why you are the right one to be given their time and attention at this moment.  Most people don’t want to waste time, and they especially don’t want to waste time being bored.

Make sure you know your topic well enough that, if you forget a point, you can bring it up later.

This also applies to digression. If you get onto a point that doesn’t seem to be on related to your focus, then use it to circle back around, so you can successfully tie it in to your main topic.

One example of this is, if I say, “Today, I’m going to tell you about why you should have a dog,” and then I talk about how important it is to eat organic and NON-GMO food, most if not all of those in the audience will be wondering what in the world the food has to do with the dog! So, you help them know that you know exactly where you are in your talk, by saying something like, “Like many people, I’ve proven it to myself that eating organic and NON-GMO foods can improve one’s heath. Did you know that there are now organic and NON-GMO foods for dogs, to keep them healthier? It’s a win-win; your dog brings you joy and focus, and thus greater emotional health, and when you feed your dog such excellent food, it will live a longer, healthier life.”

Other things that will help you be a great public speaker are to stay relaxed, and know that the audience is not waiting for you to mess up; they are truly interested in what you are saying (well, most of them!), and are on your side. Long gone are the days of the audience throwing rotten tomatoes or pulling the speaker off stage with a shepherd’s crook! So thank goodness for that!

If you feel nervous, put your tongue behind your teeth for moisture. This will help keep your throat from being dry and making your voice “squeak.”

Before you speak, you can practice in the mirror, or with a friend; even with your pet, or by recording yourself on camera or your phone.

If you see yourself picking at your hair or pocket or shirttail, or tapping the desk or something, and/or hear your voice sound thin and/or squeaky, then you can practice until you don’t do those things.

If you know your speech well, and you are still a little fearful, then, when you get in front of the audience, look at them, but focus on the wall or other space just above their heads. It will seem to them that you are looking directly at them, but you’re not. That will be less intense for you.

Be sure and turn your head, and look at all of the audience, so they will all feel included.

If you are in a small space, you can still look just above their heads, but you can bring greater emphasis to points you especially want them to remember, by looking very briefly straight into their eyes. This is very effective when you are speaking an emotional or otherwise dramatic point. By looking directly into a person’s eyes, they feel like you are speaking just to them at that moment, and that can often cause an emotional response or otherwise heighten their interest and remembrance of what you are saying.

Also, if you are relating an emotional story or other dramatic point, pause, or slow down your speech. This gives greater emphasis to it, and can also draw some listeners, who may have been distracted, back into your speech.

Again, your goal is to positively impact the audience, and demonstrate to them that, although there may be many experts on the subject you are talking about, there is none that can convey the information as powerfully and uniquely as you can.

Just like when we watch a movie, read a book, or hear a song that moves us, when an audience has a positively memorable experience listening to a speaker, they will be influenced, and often, permanently.

Finally, one of the most important tips—no matter how important your message is—is to stay within your time limit. This shows respect to your audience, the organization that is allowing you to speak, and any other speakers who may come after you.

These are all important tips that can help you be a great speaker, and, with God for you, your message can change lives for eternity!

Through books, courses, presentations, service, prayer, worship, and more, Tonja and her husband live to exalt God. Her series for girls, P.O.W.E.R. GIRL ADVENTURES, is now out (books I-V), along with LEGACY; YOUR HOLY HEALTH: VISIONS OF THE KING, and more. See the "River Rain Creative" YT channel.