Many people fear public speaking.

It’s not the speaking that’s so much of a problem, more of the fact that it’s public. After all, if you were to speak in an empty room those fears would be significantly diminished, if there at all.

This is a testament to how much we care about the opinions of others.

So what to do when the need for speaking in front of a group arises? Here are a couple tips to present yourself in a way that convinces and impacts your audience.

1. Anchor. No pacing, no long leaps, no awkward feet turns. Begin your speech purposefully starting out in a specific area and then make direct movements across the stage. Couple this with the content of your speech to emphasize specific points, and you’ve developed a skill known as anchoring.
2. Pause. Nothing kills your stage presence like a monotone voice. However, the difference between a good speaker and a masterful speaker is (*dramatic pause*) mastering the pause. To conduct and orchestrate an audience you must be comfortable with pausing.
3. Engage. Engage your audience. This could be by asking questions, ones you want them to answer or rhetorical ones, getting volunteers or telling an interesting story.

Once practiced, these tips will help develop your presenting abilities to create a positive impact.