1. Prepare
How long will you be speaking, five minutes or an hour? Who is the audience? What is the venue —a staff meeting or a large group? With that in mind, you need to prepare and organize your thoughts. It is important that you thoroughly understand your topic and what you plan to present. Prepare your presentation with the audience in mind. What are you trying to communicate and what is the desired outcome? Once you have a clear objective, be sure that your speaking points succinctly support your objective. Don’t cloud the presentation with too much information. Finally, anticipate questions and prepare answers.