Art of Public Speaking

• Effective speech is not for exhibition but for communication.
• The technique of effective speech is unobtrusive and disarming.
• Speech is effective in proportion to the intrinsic worth of the speaker.
• Impressions of the speaker are derived largely from signs of which the audience are unaware.
• The matter to be communicated is the all important thing.
• Audiences listen because they hope to learn something.
• If the speaker has nothing worth saying, he is guilty of obtaining time under false pretense and deserves indictment. But if a speaker does have something worth saying, he may still fail wholly or in part because of some remediable mannerism of the body, voice or personality.
• Some are excellent speakers but their gestures adds nothing to their effectiveness but detracts.
• Some speakers deserves a hearing, but their gestures makes hearing less pleasant. 
• A most exasperating habit of some speakers is to address part of audience and neglect the rest.
• Audiences want clear enunciation, enough volume, but they can dispense with "oratory".
• A story which is really apt is often welcome. It can serve as a relief from reforming the universe before breakfast. But funny stories are rare and speakers who know how tell them in funny way are rarer.
• Brevity is a virtue greatly appreciated by audiences, but all too seldom practiced by speakers.
• The man who can be relied on to say what he has to say, forcefully and interestingly, and then sit down can count on return invitations.
• Public speaking is an art. It can be learned.
• Gestures are part of natural, sincere, emphatic speech.
• Vocal acrobatics are alright too, if they grow naturally out of the speaker's message and personality and are not strain on audience's patience.
• Be utterly natural, utterly sincere, utterly absorbed and versed in your subject.
• We all have unfortunate mannerisms of which we are unaware, we should go to some pains to discover and correct them.
• It is a valuable experience to see ourselves as other see us.
• It would pay any person who speaks often in public to commission a candid friend to tell him the blunt truth about his platform mannerisms. And not get angry if the friend say something disagreeable! Failure to see ourselves as the audience sees us ruins many a carefully prepared speech that could have been very effective.

In presentations or speeches less really is more.
A good speech should be like a woman's skirt; long enough to cover the subject 
and short enough to create interest ... Winston S. Churchill

My View:

Public speaking seem daunting and scary but is rewarding and fun too. It is a new skill and can accelerate your career. If you are a first time speaker you have no pressure to deliver a revolutionary speech. Speech without preparation is pale and confusing. Create a draft and road test it. A title for the speech and brief outline helps you to focus on key points you want to communicate. Never think you have to be expert to present something new. Passion for the subject and a personal perspective will always be of interest to audience. It is a good idea to speak out loud that ensure your messages are clear and well articulated. To improve take anonymous feed back. Next time you get a chance to speak, don't miss it.