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Very few of us are natural born speakers in the sensethat we can speak extemporaneously and spontaneously without preparation andyet deliver eloquent, polished, and appropriate speech to an audience. In factmany of us dread the chore of public speaking. We are shy and become tonguetied. I myself certainly belong to this latter category in my younger days.However, fortunately, most occasions for public speaking are not spontaneous, whetherit is classroom lectures or emceeing an event. There is always prior notice andone has plenty of time to prepare for the role. Anyone who follows a set ofrules for preparation can do a good job.

If the mantra for real estate is “location, location,and location”, then it is “Preparation, Preparation, and Preparation” forpublic speaking. In preparing for a talk, you must know

1.    The purposeof your speaking job, the occasion, and the time available to you

2.    Prepare yourremarks according to #1. You should concentrate on what may be of interest tothe audience NOT what is of interest to you.

3.    Outline yourideas on a series of note cards. Carry them with you. Anytime an idea presentsitself enter it or revise on the appropriate note card. In case you haveaudio-visual for your talk, then PowerPoint slides becomes your note cards.

4.    If youpractice #1-#3 repeatedly over the course of a week or two, then a speechnaturally will be the result (note 1)

This is the first step of preparation. Now onto thesecond step:

5.    Practiceyour speech using the set of note cards developed above.

6.    If you likeyou can write out during practice what you wanted to say using the note cardsas an outline. However, NEVER read a speech when the time comes to deliver it(by the same token, professors should never read from notes during a lecture).

7.    When you getto the point you can deliver the speech preferably using only the note cards asoccasional reminder, you should give your talk to a couple of good friends oryour spouse who can honestly give critiques.

8.    Step #7 aswell as the passage of time will give you ideas on how to revise steps # 5-6above until you have a final version.

The finalstep of preparation involves committing your speech to memory. By this I don’tmean memorize it word for word.

9.            Memorize the content of the speech (with help of the finalversion of note cards if needed) by practicing it in your mind any chance youhave, e.g., when you are waiting for a bus, walking to work, or doing somerepetitive chore that does not require thinking.

10.       It is bestto be able to deliver the talk without notes (if you practiced #9 enough times,you should be able to do so). Don’t worry if you miss 5-10% of the content evenduring the actual talk. Being able to deliver 90-95% of a well prepared talkwill put you far ahead.

11.       Incorporatelast minute items on the day of the speech depending on appropriate localcircumstances and happenings. For example, google “today in history” and findout any interesting happenings on this day in the past and tied it to yourspeech occasion. Or do a bit of research about the locality or the organizationthat invited you. This will distinguish you from other prepared speakers.

12.  Humor always improves a talk. you don't need to dream up your own jokes. There are books and web sites for jokes which you can research and adapt to your talk. But don't over do it when you first start out.

After the talk do a post-mortem on yourperformance. This way you will know how to improve next time around. By practicingthe above 12 steps diligently, anyone will be able to become a good speaker.And with enough practice and experience, you may even begin to approach anatural born speaker.

Finally, if you are interested in improving  and/or practrcing your speaking skill there are two sources both of which I have had good experience:

A. Almost every city has evening adult education classes in public speaking for very low cost which you can enroll in.

B. Almost every town has a chapter of Toastmaster International which you can join for no cost. This organization is devoted to training in public speaking

(note 1. In 1999 I was invited to give a plenary talk in the world congress of my profession held for the first time in history in Beijing China - a once in a lifetime occasion. Steps 4-6 above consumed a period of 12 months for me.)

(Note 2. 10 tips for public speaking from Xerox office http://www.office.xerox.com/latest/XOGFL-45U.PDF?source=109008&CMP=OA-2011-12&CRTV=A5&AUD=ENUS&LNK=Tip1&XOGlang=en_US)

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