Here are four common, and untrue myths about public speaking.

Myth #1: You have to be educated to become a public speaker.

Although education is a great asset, it is not a requirement to start a speaking career. Although a high educational attainment may appeal to some buyers it all depends on the niche. If your market is highly academic and scholarly, then a good educational background can pull interest from buyers.

On the other hand, most of the market does not...

Maybe you are thinking that you do not have something to share or you do not have any ability to speak publicly. The truth is that everyone and anyone can be a public speaker. Why? Because no matter what you have learned or experienced, chances are, you have something to share. And the art public speaking, just anything else, can be honed through dedicated practice and commitment.

Some of the successful speakers I have known were just average Joes and Janes. They did not have any...

You want to become a professional speaker but you don't know what steps to take to break into the industry.

Firstly, you have to know what it takes to become a pro. Also, you must take into account all the possible sacrifices you have to make to be successful in the speaking industry.

Aside from the ability to speak in public, professional speakers need to have exceptional people skills. Speakers should communicate well with people on and off the stage. In order to get...

Nowadays, public speaking has become one of the most lucrative industries around.Financially successful public speakers are quite common and one great thing about this career is that it requires no formal education or noteworthy achievements for someone to break out as a new speaker. One can gain recognition while establishing a public speaking career.

Getting into the speaking industry requires a marketer's aptitude as well as actual speaking skills.After all, the principal means...

These may sound like no brainers, but you'd be surprised. No matter how high-tech your business has become, there is no doubt you still have some non-electronic aspects of your company. These are things like your business cards, stickers, and work shirts, to name a few.

Check out your business cards first. These should be at the ready whenever possible. Make sure your website is listed on your card: this is a way for a possible customer to check you out on their own. A good tip is...

Some humor 'experts' say that you should not laugh at your own jokes and stories when you are speaking in public. This may work for some, but it is definitely not my style. When I'm in front of an audience, I'm having a great time. I'm there because I love humor and laughter and I love sharing it with the audience. I can't help laughing sometimes. I laugh at what I say. I laugh at what they say. I laugh at unexpected occurrences during the presentation. That's my style. I believe that...

I run across funny signs all the time. I try to take a mental note or take a picture of the sign for later use during a public speaking engagement.

John Jay Daly, a speaker friend of mine, does a hysterical slide presentation called 'The Wacky, Wonderful World of Washington.' Many of the slides are of signs that he has seen around Washington, D.C.

My favorite is a sign that says, 'In case of nuclear attack, the ban on school prayer will be lifted.' Another slide has a brass...

Here are some things you should keep in mind when a television camera is trained on you:

TELEVISION & VIDEOTAPE TIPS

* Gestures should be smaller.

* Make sure clothing is "broken in" and comfortable when you are sitting and standing.

* Prior to your performance, have instant photos or video taken of you while sitting and standing. Make sure your clothes look good in both positions.

* Find out the background color of the set if possible. You...

To add some humor to your public speaking engagement you can make fake newspaper articles and headlines and book covers by using your computer software and printer.

To mock up a newspaper article, simply find the column function of your word processor and set the column width to approximate a real newspaper. It does not matter that your are not holding up actual newsprint because you could have simply cut the article from a newspaper and had it photocopied. If you want to actually...

If it is hard to hear, people won't listen. When speaking in public you must have an excellent sound system because some of the time you will be speaking while your audience is laughing. Stand-up comics need good sound too, but they are a little different because they tell a joke, then people laugh (they hope). They tell another joke, then people laugh. A good public speaker will be rolling right along making points, showing product features, telling stories, and dropping one-liners and...