Public speaking is the number one fear in the U.S. Number two is death.

It's strange that people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death. In this article I want to focus on how you can deliver better presentations which will ultimately help you to erase your fear of speaking in public.

Prepare It

Nobody is going to deliver a great speech without any kind of preparation. In order to be able to speak effective and confidently you need to know the topic you are talking about. And I don't mean that you just have to know a little bit about it.

Study it in depth. The more you know about it the more confident you will appear when giving your presentation.

Visual Elements

Using something visual is absolutely important. People will sometimes have a hard time to follow you especially when you are explaining a complex topic. For that purpose you can use flip boards or a projector to make it more easy to understand what you are saying.

Of course be sure to not rely too heavily on the use of visual elements because then people might be more inclined to look at the pictures than to listen to you.

Pause

Give your audience a break once in a while. Pauses can be really effective if they are used right. If you explain something complex then be sure to make longer breaks. This will give your listeners a chance to understand what you have just said. In combination with visual elements this then can become quite a powerful presentation.