Just as there is a process for writing a paper, there is a process for developing a good speech. The following guidelines can help you improve your speaking skills greatly and lose your fear of speaking publicly.

Step 1: Clarify Your Objective Begin by identifying the goals of your presentation. Do you want to persuade your listeners that your campus needs additional student parking or inform your listeners about the student government? What do you want your listeners to know, believe, or do when you are finished?

Step 2: Understand Your Audience In order to understand the people you’ll be talking to, ask yourself the following questions:

Step 3: Organize Your Presentation Now comes the most important part of the process: building your presentation by selecting and arranging blocks of information to help your listeners connect the ideas they already have to the new knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs you are presenting. You can actually write an outline for your speech.

Step 4: Choose Appropriate Visual Aids You might use software programs, such as Prezi or PowerPoint, to prepare your presentations. When creating PowerPoint slides or Prezi templates, you can insert images and videos to support your ideas while making your presentations animated, engaging, and interactive. You might also choose to prepare a chart, write on the board, or distribute handouts. As you select and use your visual aids, consider these guidelines:

A fancy slideshow can’t make up for lack of careful research or sound ideas, but using clear, attractive visual aids can help you organize your material and help your listeners understand what they’re hearing. The quality of your visual aids and your skill in using them can help make your presentation effective.

Step 5: Prepare Your Notes If you are like most speakers, having an entire written copy of your speech in front of you may tempt you to read much of your presentation. But a speech, read word for word, will often sound artificial. A better strategy is to memorize the introduction and conclusion, and then use a carefully prepared outline to guide you in between. You should practice in advance. Because you are speaking mainly from an outline, your choice of words will be slightly different each time you give your presentation, with the result that you will sound prepared but natural. Since you’re not reading, you will be able to maintain eye contact with your listeners. Try using note cards; number them in case you accidentally drop the stack on your way to the front of the room. After you become more experienced, your visuals can serve as notes. A handout or a slide listing key points can provide you with a basic outline.

Step 6: Practice Your Delivery Practice your delivery before an audience: a friend, your dog, even the mirror. Use eye contact and smile. As you rehearse, form a mental image of success rather than failure. Practice your presentation aloud several times to control your anxiety. Begin a few days before your speech date, and make sure you rehearse out loud, as thinking through your speech and talking through your speech have very different results. Consider making an audio or video recording of yourself on your cell phone or mobile device to hear or see your mistakes. If you ask a practice audience (friends or family) to give you feedback, you’ll have some idea of what changes you might want to make.

Step 7: Pay Attention to Word Choice and Pronunciation As you reread your presentation, make sure that you have used the correct words to express your ideas. Get help ahead of time with words you aren’t sure how to pronounce. Try your best to avoid like, um, uh, you know, and other fillers.

Step 8: Dress Appropriately Now you’re almost ready to give your presentation. But don’t forget one last step: Dress appropriately. Leave the baseball cap, the T-shirt, and the tennis shoes at home. Don’t overdress, but do look professional. Experts suggest that your clothes should be a little nicer than what your audience is wearing. Some speakers find that when they dress professionally, they deliver a better presentation!

Step 9: Request Feedback from Someone in Your Audience After you have completed your speech, ask a friend or your instructor to give you some honest feedback. If you receive written evaluations from your audience, read them and pay attention to suggestions for ways you can improve.