How to be a Better Public Speaker According to the Toastmasters

By Ron Bratt

Joshua Rinaldi is the president of the New York Toastmasters, a speaking club that helps those

unable to speak publicly build up the courage and the technique.

Only two years ago, Rinaldi himself was petrified of public speaking. Business Insider asked him for

some tips for the person who lists public speaking amongst his greatest fears.

Rinaldi assures wanna be speakers that a little practice can yield great results very quickly. Here are

some of his tips.

Transcript to Memory

A speech is a performance, not a staged reading. You want to be off book by the time you present. Rinaldi

types out a full first draft and reads it repeatedly until it begins to sink in.

Transcript to Memory

Then he begins reciting the speech without the text in front of him. He says that what he ends up saying when he delivers the speech usually ends up being slightly different than what he wrote, but that will

only make it sound more natural.

Use Notes to Keep Your Place

Notes can be helpful in making sure that you do not end up dwelling on any one particular point for too

long. What you don’t want to do is have such copious notes that you end up just reading your notes instead

of giving a speech.

Use Notes to Keep Your Place

Take up a notecard with four or five one-word bullet points to help keep you on the right track and only

refer to them when you feel you want to transition to your next point.

Slow Your Breathing. Lay Off the Coffee.

Nerves can get the best of even the most seasoned speakers if they are not careful. In the minutes

leading up to being called up to the mic, it can be a good idea to calm your nerves by subtly clenching

your fists, and intentionally slowing down your breathing.

Slow Your Breathing. Lay Off the Coffee.

Caffeine should be taken only in small doses before a speech, as it can mix badly with the natural

adrenaline surge that often accompanies public speaking.

Don’t Apologize

A common mistake amongst rookie speech givers is the tendency to apologize for their lack of public

speaking prowess ahead of time. This is understandable. A little bit of self-deprecating humor will endear yourself to your audience, right? Wrong.

Don’t Apologize

All this serves to do is drive down expectations and many people will zone out immediately. Instead, be confident. Be a person that people want to listen to and that will endear you must faster than any self-

defeating joke.