Audience, outline, notes, practice, voice, pace, eye contact, body language

How to get better at public speaking

Nervousness, mindset and feedback decide how fast your confidence grows. Find the one area that holds you back, fix that first, then move up one small step at a time.

  • Know your audience
  • Practice out loud
  • Make steady eye contact
  • Start small

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Find your stuck point, then climb

Where do you get stuck?

  1. Prepare and Structure Your Content

    1. Know your audienceStart here

      A talk aimed at everyone reaches no one.

      Do this today
      Write who is listening and what they need from you.
      It is working when
      You can name the one thing they should keep.

    2. Use a clear outlineStart here

      A short spine of points stops rambling. Plain definitions of all the public speaking skills used here are collected in one place.

      Do this today
      Fit an opening, three points and a close on one card.
      It is working when
      You get through the talk from that card alone.

    3. Reduce notes to keywordsStart here

      A script pulls your eyes off the room.

      Do this today
      Cut each paragraph of notes to two or three words.
      It is working when
      You glance down and look up within a sentence.

    4. Practice out loudStart here

      Reading silently trains your eyes, not your mouth.

      Do this today
      Say the talk out loud once and record it.
      It is working when
      Take two has fewer stops than take one.

  2. Master On-Stage Delivery

    1. Project your voiceStart here

      A little louder than chat fills the room and sounds sure.

      Do this today
      Read one paragraph to the far wall.
      It is working when
      The back row follows without leaning in.

    2. Vary your pace and pitchStart here

      A flat, fast voice is hard to follow. A pause beats "um".

      Do this today
      Mark two pauses and hold each for one breath.
      It is working when
      Your recording has silence where filler words were.

    3. Make steady eye contactStart here

      One person per thought feels like a conversation.

      Do this today
      In your next meeting, end each sentence on one face.
      It is working when
      Afterwards you remember who you looked at.

    4. Use purposeful body languageStart here

      Planted feet and open hands look calm, even when you aren't.

      Do this today
      Stand still and gesture only on key words.
      It is working when
      Your video shows no swaying or pacing.

  3. Manage Anxiety and Gain Experience

    1. Reframe nervousnessStart here

      A racing heart feels a lot like excitement, and the label changes how you perform.

      Do this today
      Before you speak, say "I am excited" out loud.
      It is working when
      The jitters feel like fuel, not a warning.

    2. Shift your mindsetStart here

      Thinking about what you give moves the spotlight off you.

      Do this today
      Write the one useful thing each listener gets.
      It is working when
      Your worry is about them, not you.

    3. Start smallStart here

      Low-risk rooms build confidence for big ones.

      Do this today
      Pick one of these public speaking tips for your next meeting and nothing else.
      It is working when
      You spoke up once and would do it again.

Why practice feels slow

Getting better at public speaking is swapping one habit at a time, said out loud until it holds while people watch.

Speed is a common one. When AmberWillo polled 1,851 new members (December 2025 to October 2026), talking too fast under nerves came second at 21%, after going blank at 38%. Train it with a pace break drill:

  1. Pick two points from your talk.
  2. Say the first one too fast, on purpose.
  3. Stop and breathe once.
  4. Say one reset line, such as "Let me say that more clearly."
  5. Carry on with the next point, slower.

A guide to practice exercises from AmberWillo puts new drills at four or more times weekly, and a habit you are changing at roughly a minute, once or twice daily.

Practice out loud, then in front of people

Practice climbs too: alone, then a few listeners, then a room. Screens count: a 2019 meta-analysis of 30 trials (1,355 people) found technology-assisted programs worked as well as face-to-face ones.

The rung after that: the same nerves, but in a small live video room with people who are climbing too. AmberWillo hosts them online: you and no more than fourteen other people chasing the same goal. You talk on camera; a confidence number, some written coaching and a fresh milestone wrap up every round, and signing up is free of charge.

Support groups offer "unbiased, honest feedback", the National Institute of Mental Health notes, in person and online. If you want a teacher in the room, compare public speaking classes by format first. Between sessions, one scored 30-second rep a day keeps you climbing.

Where the nerves come from

Speaking nerves are the body's alarm ringing with no danger near. The alarm of public speaking rings about specific fears. In a 1996 survey of 499 adults, one third reported excessive anxiety speaking to a large audience. The fears named:

Public speaking fears in a community sample (Archives of General Psychiatry, 1996)
FearShare of respondents
Trembling, shaking or showing anxiety80%
Mind going blank74%
Doing or saying something embarrassing64%
Being unable to continue talking63%
Not making sense59%

Reframe nervousness

A study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General tested two ways to handle jitters before singing, a speech or a math task.

Trying to calm down
What most people believe works best.
Calling it excitement
Saying "I am excited" out loud left people more excited, and they performed better.

Reader questions

Why do I struggle so much with public speaking?

Almost everyone does. A 2019 review in Frontiers in Psychology calls it the most commonly feared situation, reported by up to one third of people. One stuck point usually drives it. A free 30-second test shows where you stand.

What causes poor speaking skills?

Too few reps out loud and too little feedback. The US Department of Labor's O*NET defines speaking as talking to others to convey information effectively: a skill, so practice moves it.

What are the 5 C's of public speaking?

No one fixed list exists. One version AmberWillo describes is Caring, Credible, Charismatic, Comfortable and Confident.

What is the 3:2:1 rule in speaking?

Versions differ, but the goal is to stop rambling. The 3 is the three things your listener should remember; everything else serves them.

Why am I fumbling my words suddenly?

Usually rushing plus nerves: your mouth runs ahead of your thoughts. Slow down and keep one reset line ready. If your speech changes suddenly and stays changed, talk to a doctor.

Sources

  1. Psychological Interventions for the Fear of Public Speaking: A Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 2019. PMC6428748
  2. Public-speaking fears in a community sample. Archives of General Psychiatry, 1996. PubMed 8629892
  3. Get excited: reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2014. PubMed 24364682
  4. O*NET OnLine, US Department of Labor: Speaking
  5. National Institute of Mental Health: Social Anxiety Disorder: More Than Just Shyness
  6. AmberWillo: If you talk too fast under pressure, one presentation drill matters most
  7. AmberWillo: Public Speaking Practice Exercises
  8. AmberWillo: How to Get Better at Public Speaking

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