4 steps to building confidence as a speaker

Confidence is essential in public speaking.

Without it, you can’t connect with the audience, and they in turn will have difficulty trusting or believing what you have to say.

Try these techniques to increase your confidence and deliver an inspiring presentation every time:

1. Prepare with all your might. In addition to knowing what you’re going to say—backward and forward—you must know how you’re going to say it. That means carving out time to rehearse your delivery and identifying when to pause for effect, inflect for impact and answer audience questions. Plot this out carefully and thoughtfully, and you’ll be a lot more confident walking onto that stage.