Remember to breathe, literally. Pause-breathe-smile-resume talking. Also, I used to do all these crazy loud, goofy voices in the car on the way over to get my voice past shaky and quivery.

Mentally think of a presenter you really enjoyed, think of the richness of their voice, their smile, and how little mistakes did not throw them, they were just at ease. You are them.

You must be excited and a bit of an expert on your topic or they would not have asked you to speak, good for you!!! Bring down the house! Hope these help.

You'll be fine. My 2 cents:

1. Start with a joke or a humorous statement. You'll loosen both yourself and your audience up.

2. Don't look any of the audience directly in the eyes. Instead, just focus your eyes on the tops of the heads of the people in the back row. This will look like you are making eye contact when you really aren't.

3. Since you don't have handouts or a powerpoint, is your talk such that you could ask a question or two to generate participation? If you can, then make eye contact.

4. It's only 10 minutes. Keep in the back of your mind that you can go for an adult beverage of your choice when the work day is over!

Thanks it does help, actually! appreciate it.

I must speak in public sometimes. lido and others gave great tips. I also talk to myself., Then before, I force myself to control my thoughts... "What I have to say is important and they really want to hear what I have to say." Over and over. You will do great!

Ten minutes is a long time if you're not used to speaking in front of an audience. Practice, practice, practice. It will help you become accustomed to hearing your own "public speaking" voice. Practice in front of a mirror. That will improve your confidence in your presentation & gestures. Practice in front of your husband or kids or a friend. At least have an idea how much info you'll need to fill up ten minutes

Finally, my old debate coach said the most wonderful thing after I had given an address to a large audience and flubbed some words. She said it was a good thing I floundered a bit, otherwise the speech would have been too glib, and I would have put people to sleep. So remember that, if you find yourself groping for words: it's better than being too perfect!

Preparation is the key. Make sure you are well-prepared and know your material. Set a timer, find a quiet place in front of a mirror, and do your speech. Critique yourself if you find you are not using good volume or gestures, etc. Make sure you have a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Make your conclusion something that will stick with your listeners and motivate them to action. And I disagree with not making eye contact. You find a couple of sympathetic faces and make good eye contact. Make sure you also skim over the whole group so no one feels left out.

If you prepare well, have a good illustration or humorous comment or two........good timing and a little bit of confidence, you will do fine. I do 5 minute talks several times a year to audiences of from 20-100. I've also spoken to an audience of 1500 or so. The key is still good preparation.

Red

Ooops, forgot the most important thing: if you're genuinely interested in your subject, that will carry you through 90% of the talk. Conveying enthusiasm by explaining points you find interesting works pretty well.

I always remind myself that I'm there to speak on something that the audience is there to learn about. That automatically puts me at ease, because they're not there to judge me, but to learn from me.

I used to DREAD speaking in public, now I don't mind. For some reason I hate speaking up at meetings!

Cooper, first of all take a deep, deep breath and then remember that 90%+ of the population hates to speak in front of others.

The biggest fear about speaking is the unknown soooo if you can, go into the room where you will be speaking and walk around, stand at the lecturn or where ever you are actually going to speak and then give your speech, all of it. It will make you comfortable and relaxed so that the day you do it, it won't seem foreign to you. I do this all the time and it has made a world of difference. It allows you to work out the butterflies before you speak.

Also remember that typically with a 10 minute speech, you actually only speak about 7-8 minutes or so and then you can ask if anyone has questions. Q & A will also loosen you up and it allows for a more relaxed environment.

Also, you don't have to speak and use the entire 10 minutes if you don't think your topic warrants that much time. Use what you need, allow time for questions and always remember that the audience is rooting for the speakers.

Re eye contact and whether you do or don't make it. What you want to do is scan the room with your eyes and there is always one or two people who are intently focused on what you are saying, make eye contact with those people and as you speak and get more comfortable, then you can continue to scan the room making eye contact with others.

Remember you are giving information that people want to know and they don't always know what you know so they are there to listen and learn. You just need to be yourself, have fun with it, don't take it too seriously and trust me you will be fine.

Good luck!

Oh my, I just wanted to say I feel for you!! Lots of good advice above! I HATE speaking in front of a group of people. I forget to breathe. :)

Good luck!

One tip for even before you speak--be sure you are wearing something that is comfortable and that makes you feel terrific. Check carefully before you leave that you don't have bra straps showing, a bit of a stain on your blouse,a skirt that is too tight, etc. It is important to feel at your best as soon as you get up.

Project your voice. People, especially women, who speak so softly they can't be heard lose an audience fast. Even if you have a microphone, pitch your voice at a confident, upbeat tone as you begin. It makes the audience feel you are in control and sets up a positive energy from the beginning of your presentation.

Other corollary tips: studies have shown audiences generally go into entertain-me mode when listening to speakers. Thus, the great advice to open with something light hearted, humorous but on topic. That relaxes the audience; they feel that they are in good hands...ie yours! Then move on smoothly to the main topic.

Don't read your remarks! No matter how much practice it takes, use your notes only for quick reference if necessary and hopefully not even for that. It feels halting, and breaks the flow.

If you mess up, look up, smile, shrug and (once again) MOVE ON. People generally want a speaker to do well and as noted, a flub only makes you human, nothing more.

"Also remember that typically with a 10 minute speech, you actually only speak about 7-8 minutes or so and then you can ask if anyone has questions. Q & A will also loosen you up and it allows for a more relaxed environment."

I speak fairly regularly to groups and here's a very useful tip I always follow related to the suggestion above: 'salt' the audience. By which I mean...find someone you know, and ask him/her to ask YOU a question when you get to the Q&A point. There is nothing deadlier than absolute silence when the speaker asks 'Any questions?' and nobody says a word. For some reason people are reluctant to be the first to ask. However, once somebody breaks the ice generally there will be another question and hopefully more. And if not-at least you have avoided that awkward and embarrassing moment. Side tip: once you ask for a question, don't stand in silence waiting. If nobody has a hand up, MOVE ON FAST.

And finally something that may seem counter-intuitive but which really helps me is to realize that in the end, people in the audience have lots on their minds and you really aren't all that, so to speak. In other words, at any given moment there is a percentage of the group wondering when the food will be served, another when the bathroom break is, another if they left the iron on, another if they sent that email...in other words, the weight of the world isn't on your shoulders. Do your best, and then (all together now) MOVE ON :).

Good luck and have fun!

Ann

I feel your pain as I absolutely hate speaking in front of a group! Be glad you are first on the list, it will be over and done with!

I didn't realize you have a new job - Congratulations!! What type work do you do?

You'll do great - will be thinking of you!

tina

Being first on the podium is an advantage. You are not sitting there getting nervous. And, you still have time to throw together a simple Powerpoint presentation.

In addition to all the great ideas above, I would add, remember to pause here and there. Give people's ears a moment to rest and absorb what you have just said.

I like the idea of salting the audience with a questioner, but if not, pause after asking for questions and give people a few seconds to raise their hands.

Practice, practice, practice the beginning of your speech, especially the names of any people you are going to mention.

And me too. I always want to go first. Other people that have to speak are thinking about their own parts. The audience has not yet had time to get antsy or distracted. This is your best slot to make the best impression.

Red

I have to speak in court quite a bit for my job, and it has definitely gotten easier over the years. But, I do still get nervous. I tend to be an anxious/shy person, so at the beginning of my career it was so incredibly stressful for me to speak in court or in meetings.
My tips: be prepared. Very very prepared. Ask questions to the group, make a joke, say something a little outrageous to get their attention. When you are speaking, speak slowly and clearly. I tend to rush and go too quickly, and burn through what I want to say before people can process it. Take a good breath or two and pause between subjects or ideas. It will help you think, and people will pay attention better, and ask questions if they have them. If you get a question you don't know how to answer, turn it back to the group for comments and ideas :)
Good luck!
Jen

Breathe-belly breathe, like in labor or yoga. Most women tend to tighten up in this area, which forces them to breathe in their head, and makes their voices go squeaky. You'll be more relaxed if you breathe with your diaphragm.

Start with a joke or amusing observation--if you're the first, everything you say will be new to your audience. Your actual talk is more of a conversation, only the audience isn't talking back--they are listening, and you can pretty much tell when they're with you.

If you have time for questions at the end, then you don't have to jam all the information into your talk.

A teleprompter is much harder--you'll do fine with your note cards.

Oh you guys are simply the best! I am so glad I posted here. thank you so much. I will post back on how it went. ((hugs to all of you))

I love speaking in front of groups-- it is one of the few times I know people are listening to me (or at least pretending to!). It doesn't mean I don't get nervous, though, in anticipating the talk.

One thing I find that helps is to continually reconnect to the audience-- when people feel like you are trying to apply what you say to their situation, it holds their interest.

If you use notecards, keep what you write on to a minimum. You want to be sure they just trigger your memory, so that you don't get lost trying to read off of them.

Most importantly, have fun. Really-- when people see you relaxed, THEY will relax as well.

I also agree with the practice, practice, practice. My speeches are a million times better when I have practiced, if, for no other reason, that I know I have done all I can to prepare.

Yayyyy! It went pretty well! I took all of the advice here to heart! you have no idea how your encouragement and advice gave me confidence to do this. It was even a little fun. And next time it will be a piece of cake! I saved your advice for the future. Sue

Great, cooperb! I'm so happy for you!

Yay! Aren't you glad it's all over now?! LOL

tina

Congratulations! I'm so glad that it went well and most importantly you had fun doing it. In the end that's really what it is about, having fun. Now you have a good reason to enjoy the labor day weekend!

Bravo!! (I assume you bowed.)

Dangit I knew I forgot something!

Happy Dance for you....glad it went well!!! susan

I just read this today; I'm so glad it went well, a very happy ending !!!