Does the thought of your first speech make you shake? You are thinking what should I talk about? How long should the speech before? Here are 5 top tips that will make your first speech a success.

Proper Preparation and Presentation are Necessary

 Select a timely subject, one of current public concern; learn all you can about it, for "knowledge is power." Until you master your subject you cannot master your audience, for a speaker deep in doubt carries no conviction. He not only must believe in the idea he seeks to sell, but he must present it logically.

 Regarding Ghost-Written Speeches

The preparation of your material not only must be thorough, but also must be personal, because to discuss a subject effectively at a management meeting or to present it to a group convincingly it is important to project your own self into your talk.

Nobody likes to listen to a ghostwritten address read with the zest of a secretary reviewing last month's minutes; such an impersonal speaker wastes his listeners' as well as his own time.

Practice, Practice Rehearsal Makes Perfection

Self-confidence comes as a natural consequence of care­ful preparation. Any normal person can become a successful public speaker if he allows himself to be natural and if he observes certain cardinal canons. Of course he becomes better by working at it, but many talents are lost to the world for want of courage. The woods would have little music if no birds sang except those that sang best.

No instruction equals the simple procedure of employing every opportunity to speak publicly. More than any other human activity, this is learned by doing and improved by practice.

The way to develop self-confidence in public speaking is simply by speaking in public.

Steady Your Nerves

Shaking is due to an inner uncertainty when a speaker becomes the cynosure of an audience's eyes. Their upturned faces frighten him; they make him think of evil gremlins and he's just too "shook" to talk.

Stage fright is just a mental uneasiness that can usually be relieved by taking several deep breaths to restore your composure and cure any palpitations.

Former Senator Robert Kerr observed, "I just don't let that recur­ring feeling rob me of my reward." He feels that when a speaker is fully informed on his subject, he knows more about it at the moment than anyone present, and that thought in itself destroys any mental hazards.

Former Oklahoma Senator Mike Monroney's remedy was, "Ra­tionalize the situation. Recall that this is the moment you've been waiting for!"

Remember that a speaker who has a full understanding of his subject radiates confidence. He is as confident that his seeds of thought will sprout, as is the gardener who buys grass seed and a lawn mower at the same time.

Let's Be Brief

In all probability your maiden public appearance will be brief—perhaps no more than stating your name and occu­pation—yet there are a few cardinal fundamentals to bear in mind.

Courtesy demands that as the speaker, you first face the Chairman and acknowledge the introduction you received. Then, as you stand to start speaking, if you must do some­thing with your hands how about knitting them behind your back? Just please don't stand up there twiddling your thumbs, wringing your hands, or biting your nails to the quick.

Don't fret about the audience knowing that you're a novice; you may make a hit by acknowledging that fact. Just don't use that worn out cliché about, "unaccustomed as I am to public speaking"! Say something along the line that, "This is my maiden appearance before an audience and frankly I'm scared stiff. My name is ……., my business is ….…., and some day I hope to tell you more about myself

Summary

 For your first public speaking appearance you will most probably have the usual human apprehension. If you prepare, practice and take small steps your confidence will be built up and you will become a confident public speaker.