CAREER TIPS - You’re Giving A Talk? Tips For Avoiding The Goosebumps
Posted 10th September 2025 • Written by Rodger Dean Duncan on forbes.com • • • • • •
Do you have glossophobia?
That’s a fear of public speaking, a phobia believed to affect up to 75% of the population.
The physical symptoms range from slight nervousness and brain freeze to trembling, sweating, rapid heartbeat, and full-on panic.
Effective public speaking is definitely a skill you can learn.
Talk about things you know well and want to share with others.
Manage your discomfort by thoroughly preparing, practicing, and visualizing.
Even if you plan to speak from abbreviated notes, write out and refine your entire presentation. This will help you develop your content and build your confidence.
Sharpen your delivery with repeated, focused practice.
The act of writing your “script” will help you explore your material and select precise wording. Focus on vocabulary you’re comfortable using. Choose words that have impact. Use short sentences. Provide evidence to support your key points. In your closing, repeat the points you want your audience to remember. Edit your draft carefully. Remove redundancies and cut out material that clutters rather than illuminates.
Consider these tips when preparing your next talk.
1. Plan. Determine the best approach to your topic. Plan to address this topic in a way that will benefit your entire audience. (Remember that your listeners may have widely different backgrounds in terms of education, age, experience, etc.)
2. Organize: List the points you want to cover. Then sift and re-arrange these into no more than three or four main ideas, putting all the rest under these as sub-ideas. Effective introductory material usually (a) establishes a bond of common interest with your listeners, (b) identifies your topic and purpose and their importance to the audience, and (c) mentions the main points to be discussed in the talk. The effective conclusion is usually a brief summary of what you’ve said, with a final statement of the basic message you want your listeners to retain … or the belief you want them to have … or the action you want them to take.
3. Develop: Make notes. Gather material. Then select the necessary “evidence”— research, quotations, comparisons, anecdotes, etc.—to support and develop your points throughout the talk.
4. Practice: Condense your material to a simple outline. Practice delivering your talk aloud. Keep your delivery conversational and natural. (Typically, you’re talking to friends.) Time yourself. If you’ve been asked to talk for 15 minutes and your outline requires 17, trim it by at least three or four minutes. Then practice some more. The more you practice (a little bit every day over a period of several days), the more comfortable you’ll be.
You can do this! Invest the effort in honing your speaking skills and you’ll significantly enhance your value in the marketplace of ideas.
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