"Speaking" of which....

[Katy]

All those things are good for an experienced public speaker to work on but personally I am not that far along yet. Here is what I know...

1) If you know you can't hold still figure out how to move a little and not make noise/let people see. Wearing loose shoes and wiggling your toes works for some people. Don't try tapping your foot, fingers or any kind of large repetitive motion near a microphone...it may pick you up.

2) If you start getting nervous fix your eyes on a point just above the heads of the audience. Perspective can trick them into thinking you are just looking at the person in the row behind them (or in a very vague way at them) and will give you time to collect yourself.

3) Look for faces not people when speaking. Personally I avoid looking at the face of anybody I know. You know the expressions of people you know and so will be more sensitive to their running feedback. This running feedback frequently is "upset/anxious" because they are worried about how well you will do. This freaks you out which makes you do worse which makes them more nervous which freaks you out...around and around again.

4) When you practice your speech practice saying it extra slowly. If you get nervous you will talk much faster so you can compensate for this by talking slowly during practices. This just about averages you out.

5) If the microphone squeaks put it back in the stand. Sometimes that makes it better. If that doesn't don't be afraid to shut it off, there are few better ways to make people uncomfortable than to make them listen to microphone fits. Try to smile, apologize and ask if everybody can hear you, and keep moving while speaking up as best you can.