You’re at a huge networking event.  Nervously, you glance around the room and see many familiar faces. Some of the faces are new and are even smiling.  These are the faces of your fellow club members.  You have talked to them many times on many different occasions.  So why should this be any different?  Why do you have a big knot in your stomach?  Why do you have an overwhelming desire to run?  Why? Because tonight, YOU are the speaker.  This is the first time you’ll formally speak in front of your peers.  Are you ready?

1.  READY, SET, GO

When does your speech actually start?  When you arrive at the lectern?  Does it begin with the first utterance of a sound or word?  No.  Your presentation begins the minute the emcee begins to talk about you.  The audience automatically sweeps the crowd searching for the speaker.  Keep poised and confident.  Remember all eyes are on you!

2.  RISE TO THE OCCASION

The emcee announces your name, and the audience breaks out into applause.  Now it’s time to rise to the occasion.  All eyes are on you, watching you.  Gracefully rise out of your chair, stand tall, and slowly walk toward center stage.   Take your time walking.  The more time you take walking, the more status your audience will subconsciously give you.  Let the audience’s clapping carry you to the stage as if you were gliding on a magic carpet.  Remember to watch where you are walking.  There could be cords and wires on the ground or chair legs in your path.  Any one of these obstacles could cause you to have a nice trip.  If something awkward should happen on your way to the lectern, remain calm and use humor.  Using humor connects people and is more effective than using self-deprecating remarks.  Let your audience know that there’s nothing to worry about, you’re okay, and the show will go on.  I remember seeing Robert Allen, famous author and millionaire, fall off the stage moments after he arrived.  Instantly, he jumped back up on stage and poked fun at the hotel stage lighting, which had caused his fall. Allen’s humor set the audience at ease, and they roared with laughter at his quick wit.

3.  THE MOMENT BEFORE

Now, you can see your way clear to the lectern.  The closer you get, the more nervous you feel.  Not to worry, I have a theatre secret for you.  Ever wonder how actors can just walk on stage as if they’re already in motion?  It’s easy; they use techniques.  One popular technique is called the moment before.  The moment before is a trade secret actors use to create action before they walk on stage so they enter already in motion.  The moment before is that moment right before you walk onto the stage.  Actors create an action or simply a thought to propel themselves into the moment.  So to keep your butterflies in check, as you are walking to the lectern, use this technique.  For example, an actor might be thinking, “Yuk, I see a big spider!”  For the speaker, you might be thinking to yourself as you hear the applause, “They love me”; “I’m going to give a great speech!”  These simple statements will do two things.  First, you’ll already be active and ready to deliver your speech.  Second, you’ll give your mind something to do other than think about how nervous you are.  Consequently, you’ll eliminate any signs of nervousness—for the time being anyway.

4.  LECTERN VS. PODIUM

You made it to the lectern.  Before we continue, let me say this about the lectern.  The lectern is not a podium, and a podium is not the same thing as a lectern.  The most common mistake speakers make is calling the lectern a podium.  Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary’s defines a lectern as “an upright desk or stand with a slanted top used to hold a text at the proper height for a lecturer,”  whereas a podium is “an elevated platform for an orchestra conductor or public speaker.”  Podium comes from the word Podiatry, the profession dealing with the care of feet.  An easy way to remember this is to think of a podium as a platform where you put your feet.   This trick could save you from the embarrassment of confusing the words podium and lectern.

5.  WHEN YOU ARRIVE

Okay, you have finally arrived at the lectern on the podium after what seemed like a very long walk.  Before you utter a word, take time to adjust the microphone and prepare yourself.  Stand 10 to 12 inches behind the lectern.  Take a moment to scan your audience with your eyes as if in one smooth, wave motion with a genuine smile.  Take a beat before you speak. Breathe and then start with your opening line.  Taking this moment will instantly put you at ease and help you to connect to your audience.

6.  THE OPENING

The first words out of your mouth should be an attention grabber!  The best speeches are organized into three parts, a beginning, a middle, and an end.  Your opening line must grab your audience’s attention and arouse interest in your topic.  Examples of a good opening are

1. Enrolling questions
2. Staggering statistical statements
3. Statements of declaration

Once, I heard a speaker begin his speech with “I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!”  He said it with such emotion that the audience could actually feel his frustration with being late.  Another statement of declaration used by a young college student was, “I’m tired of being a grunt!”  That one turned heads.  Whether you choose to start with a statement of declaration, enrolling questions, or a staggering statistical statement, make it appropriate for your audience and tie it back to your speech topic.

7.  DON’T LET THEM SEE YOU SWEAT

Whatever you do before, during and after your speech do not apologize! A common mistake new speakers make is to begin their speech with an apologetic statement.  “Sorry, I’m late.”  “Forgive me for not being prepared.”  “I’m so nervous.”  These statements are self-sabotaging.  Don’t do it.  No one has to know that you’re nervous and, quite frankly, the audience won’t know it unless you tell them.  Furthermore, most symptoms of nervousness don’t even show.  For instance, your audience can’t see your sweaty palms, hear your heart racing, or feel your soaring butterflies in the pit of your stomach.  So don’t tell them.

There are many techniques to reduce nervousness and many books written on the subject.  These books are full of tricks as simple as deep breathing exercises to the more complex methods such as hypnotherapy.  However, I believe there is only one technique that really works.  Remember the three rules of real estate?  Location, location, location.  The three rules of public speaking are practice, practice, practice.  The best way to reduce and eventually eliminate nervousness is practice.  Get up and speak whenever you get the opportunity.   Rehearse your speech and get up and deliver it to your audience.  The more you speak, the less nervous you will be.  So remember, don’t ever let them see you sweat, even if you are.

8.  TREAT THE LECTERN AS YOU WOULD A CHILD

Never leave the lectern unattended. You would never walk away and leave a child alone in a supermarket or in a train station, would you?  No, that would be absurd.  Yet, how many times have you seen emcees announce the speaker and just walk away?  Every member of the audience feels this public display of awkwardness.  Not to mention the speaker having to either cover up or make up for the lack of interaction.  And how about the speaker who ends his speech and marches off the stage, leaving the lectern alone? The emcee quickly and perhaps awkwardly rushes to take charge of the situation. When the speech is over, the speaker should return the lectern to the emcee.  It works both ways.

In either case, this poor protocol can easily be avoided if you remember to treat the lectern as a child and never leave it unattended.  Let me make myself clear.  I’m not saying that you should deliver your entire speech from behind this wooded barricade. No.  When the lectern is turned over to you as a speaker, you are free to move about, returning to the lectern from time to time as needed.  I’m referring to when you are finished with your speech.  Wait patiently at the lectern, enjoying the applause, until the emcee takes charge of the lectern.  Think of a relay race where the runner passes a baton to another runner before slowing her pace.  Once the baton is passed, the passing runner is finished.

If your job is to introduce the speaker, after you announce his name, stay at the lectern until he arrives.   In the United States, it is customary to shake hands as a professional courtesy.  Stay at the lectern and greet your speaker; then gracefully leave without upstaging your guest.  Since not all emcees and speakers will have read this article and know what to do, tell them; explain it to them before the event and eliminate a potentially awkward moment.

Never touch the lectern inappropriately.  Most of us would never dream of hitting, grabbing, or leaning on a child.  Yet, I see speakers sprawled all over the lectern as they speak.  Often new presenters are so nervous they grab the edges of the lectern so tightly their knuckles turn white. Then there are those people who beat or pound on the lectern to drive a point home, leaving the audience feeling very defensive.   The major problem with treating the lectern this way, outside of offending your audience, is that it distracts your audience and prevents them from hearing what you have to say.  It helps to stand 10 to 12 inches behind the lectern to avoid the temptation of touching it inappropriately.

9.  LOVE MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY THANK YOU

Remember Love Story?  It was a popular movie made in 1970 starring Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw.  In one scene, Ryan’s character, Oliver Barrett IV, and Ali’s character, Jennifer Cavilleri, have a love spat and Jennifer takes off.  After combing the city all night looking for Jennifer, Ryan finds her sitting on the doorstep of their apartment.  Oliver apologizes.  Jennifer with tears streaming down her cheeks looks up at him and says, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”  That’s right!  And when it comes to thank-yous, the same is true for speakers.  You have just given a brilliant speech.  The audience loves you.  The audience wants more.  And you end it with “thank you.”   Thank you?  Why are you saying thank you?  It’s the audience that should be thanking you!  End your speech with a powerful statement that moves your audience into action.  Develop an ending your audience will remember.  Create an ending that compels your audience to say “thank you” to you.  Or better yet, an ending that already says, “You’re welcome.”

These are just a few of the secrets that professional speakers use to deliver powerful presentations.  By using these simple techniques, you too can command your audience’s attention, keep their interest, and move them into action.  You’re now ready to speak.

Arvee Robinson, is a Persuasive Speaking Coach, Master Speaker Trainer, International Speaker, and Author. She teaches business owners, service professionals, and entrepreneurs how to use public speaking as a marketing strategy so they can attract more clients, generate unlimited leads and grow their businesses, effortlessly. www.instantprospeaker.com

Nine out of ten business presentations end with either an unimpressive “Thank you” or a feeble “Are there any questions?” Both are ineffective when it comes to persuading your audience to buy your products and services.

After many years of making business presentations, I discovered the most effective close consists of three parts: a question and answer session, an invitation (call to action), and the closing statement, respectively. Here’s how they work:

1. Question and answer session

Most business presentations have a question and answer (Q & A) period at the end of the talk. Unless your presentation is interactive, this is the time your audience may ask questions. The Q & A section of your presentation should mark the beginning of your close, not the end.

How many times have you seen a speaker ask “Are there any questions?” only to look out into an audience of blank stares and what feels like an eternity of silence.

For this section to be successful, you must have audience participation.

To prevent an ocean of blank stares, use one of the following techniques to get your Q & A session rolling. First, have a friend in the audience prepared to ask a question the minute you open the floor to questions. It’s a good idea to know the question ahead of time so you’re ready with an answer; however, it’s not absolutely necessary. Another approach that works great is for you to lead with a question you’re typically asked. Start by saying, “A question I’m typically asked is . . .”

Both methods will give your audience time to formulate their questions and prevent an awkward silence. Afterward, thank your audience for their questions before moving to your invitation (call to action).

2. Invitation (Call to action)

Even though most of us have often been advised to create a call to action at the end of our sales presentation, many professionals leave out this step when making a presentation to a group. Every presentation we make whether to an individual or a group of people is a sales presentation.

Therefore, we must have a call to action to get the desired results. It’s during this step that you’ll tell your audience exactly what you want them to do. Be clear and concise. Also, during this step you’ll want to collect their business cards. The primary purpose for giving a business presentation is to generate new business and so, to be able to contact audience prospects later, you’ll need to know who is present. The best way to find out is to gather everyone’s business card. At first glance, this might not seem like an easy task. But it is.

This is when you give something to get something. Everyone loves free stuff. One approach to collecting attendees’ business cards is to give away a free book. Select a book that’s appropriate for your presentation. Ask your audience to take out a business card and pass it to the front of the room. Tell your audience you would like to put them on your mailing list for future free articles. If they don’t want to be on your mailing list, ask them to fold their card in half so you’ll know not to add them. Then have someone in the audience draw a winner. This is a simple and fun way to give something to your audience and get their business cards. Better yet, you now have their permission to follow up.

Another technique to gather business cards is to give everyone an article you have written on your subject. Tell them to bring you a business card after the meeting and you will give them a copy of your free article. Other ideas include inviting them to a free seminar, workshop, teleclass, or consulting session. Some speakers pass out forms for their audience to fill out in order to receive something in exchange. Although this might work for some, it may be too much work for others. Whatever your call to action is, keep it fast and easy.

3. Closing Statement.

This is your final word. Decide what thought or feeling you want to leave with your audience and make sure your closing sentence resonates that thought. The most powerful closing sentences are statements of declaration or famous quotes. For example, if you were an executive recruiter talking about the hiring process, your closing statement might be, “That is how you hire the right people and keep them!” Or you might use a quote such as, “Too many people use recruiters the same way a drunk uses a lamppost—to lean on, rather than to shed light.” Whichever you choose, make sure that it’s appropriate for your presentation and your audience.

Write it out and memorize it so you won’t forget it. This is your last chance to persuade your audience and make a lasting impression. Don’t throw it away by ending with a polite “thank you.” Instead, make your ending as strong as your beginning. Finish your presentation with power and confidence. Make it positive, exciting, and memorable. Always end with a bang!

As you move from step to step in the closing process, be sure to make smooth transitions. Let your audience know you’re moving to the next step. For instance, at the end of your Q & A session you could simply say, “If there are no more questions I would like to invite you to . . .” You have smoothly transitioned your audience into the call-to-action portion of your close. This will help your audience follow your presentation and keep their attention. The longer you keep their attention, the better the odds for selling your products and services.

By following this simple three-step strategy, you’ll be able to create a powerful close with an active Q & A session, a motivating call to action, and a captivating closing statement that will generate new business, instantly.

Arvee Robinson, is a Persuasive Speaking Coach, Master Speaker Trainer, International Speaker, and Author. She teaches business owners, service professionals, and entrepreneurs how to use public speaking as a marketing strategy so they can attract more clients, generate unlimited leads and grow their businesses, effortlessly. www.instantprospeaker.com

Why do speakers self-sabotage their speeches by beginning this way? It’s simple. It’s because they haven’t clearly defined or prepared their opening. Consequently, nervously, they search for what to say next and fill in this awkward gap with a filler word, “ah” or “um.” Your goal as a presenter is to grab your audience’s attention and keep it. Although there are numerous ways to open a presentation, I have found three methods to be the most effective, especially when making business presentations.

1. Enrolling questions

One of my favorite ways to open a presentation is with enrolling questions. Asking a question of your audience immediately gets them involved. Ask questions that are pertinent to your audience. Use close-ended questions, those questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no signified by a raised hand. The beauty of asking enrolling questions is that they engage your audience in both a physical and a mental activity. Stimulating these two activities often creates a higher likelihood that you will keep your audience’s attention throughout your presentation.

Prepare your questions ahead of time and practice raising your hand to eliminate any potential awkwardness in front of your audience. Below is an example of enrolling questions an executive recruiter asked a group of business owners:

• “How many people here want to hire the right people?”
• “How many people here want to hire the right people and keep them?”

The rule of thumb when asking enrolling questions is that you must enroll 100% of your audience. Rule 2: Always ask two questions. Why? Because one question alone is not as effective as asking two. So how do you ask these two questions? There are two different ways. If you know for a fact that your audience will be enrolled with the first question, the second question can be a building question.

For example: “How many people here need to talk in order to sell your products and services?” “How many people here would like to talk less and sell more?”

If you’re not sure your first question will engage the majority of your audience, with the second question you ask the opposite or the complement of the first. For instance: “How many of you like chocolate?” “How many of you don’t?” Or “How many of you have children?” “How many of you don’t?”

By asking two questions you have a better chance of engaging 100% of your audience and keeping them engaged.

2. Statement of declaration

A statement of declaration is a powerful way to begin any speech. A statement of declaration is simply an announcement—with meaning. This statement can be a starting point from anywhere in your speech as long as it relates to your topic. What I love about this method is that this type of statement usually jerks anyone who may have mentally left the room back into their seats.

Once I heard a speaker begin his speech with “I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!” He said it with such emotion that the audience could actually feel his frustration with being late and waited to hear more. Another memorable statement of declaration used by a young college student was, “I’m tired of being a grunt!” The entire audience fell silent because most of us could relate to that statement in some form or another. It grabbed our attention, big time.

The rule of thumb when making statements of declaration is to say them with strong conviction. Say it like you mean it.

3. Staggering statistical statement.

A staggering statistical statement is one that includes statistical information. This information is usually measured by a percentage, a number, or a dollar value. For instance: “80% of communication is nonverbal!” “Fifty thousand Americans suffer from diabetes!” Or “Our country has an all-time high deficit of sixty billion dollars!” When using a statistical statement as your attention grabber, do your homework. The information has to be 100% TRUE. If not, you will lose your credibility and your audience.

It doesn’t matter which of these “explosive attention grabbers” you use to begin your presentation, as long as you use one. Experiment with using the three different types to see which one works best for you and your speech. Remember, your opening question or statement must be relative to your topic and appropriate for your audience. Memorize it, practice it, and own it. If you grab your audience’s attention in the beginning, chances are you’ll keep it until the end.

Arvee Robinson, is a Persuasive Speaking Coach, Master Speaker Trainer, International Speaker, and Author. She teaches business owners, service professionals, and entrepreneurs how to use public speaking as a marketing strategy so they can attract more clients, generate unlimited leads and grow their businesses, effortlessly.  www.instantprospeaker.com

Have you ever been tongue tied at the thought of approaching an attractive woman and introducing yourself? What about feeling awkward and out of place at business or social gatherings? How about hesitating to raise your hand in class or pick up the phone to make a sales call?

Before we go any farther. Stop! Think for a moment about the cost of this shyness crap in your life. Seriously. What’s it costing you?

• Imagine what it would be like to be able to approach any woman, any time and engage her in a relaxed funny, sexy, playful conversation that you both enjoy.
• Imagine being able to speak up for your own needs and desires and getting them.
• Imagine walking into a business networking meeting and people glowingly referring you to people who need and want your services.
• Imagine people seeking you out for advice and guidance regarding the product or service you offer…
• Imagine in a meeting or in a class raising your hand with a key question or comment that makes it easier for the trainer or teacher to teach and for the other students to understand…
• Imagine offering an idea that ends up saving your company thousands of dollars…
• Had an idea that you hesitated to share with your boss or colleagues.You might think you’re shy.

All well and good but first… that…. thing that….stops you from… taking the risk….

…Shyness. (It really does suck, doesn’t it?)

How To Stop Being Shy In Four Steps:

1. Realize you created it. Since you created it. You can change it.

Shyness is not a thing. It is something you do. It’s a process. It’s a habit. It’s a learned behavior. It is not a lifetime sentence. It is not genetic. It is not a disease, even though the shrinks love to “diagnose” it and call it “Social Anxiety Disorder”. At some point in your childhood you decided to be shy. You created it because it solved some problems and seemed to keep you out of bad feelings. Again, if you created it (and you really did, didn’t you?) you can change it.

2. Discover Your “Program” – Uncover your Unconscious process of “doing” shyness.

How do you do it? I get my clients to teach me how they do their problem. They don’t realize there are a set pattern of steps they go through to get that certain feeling. What triggers it? What do you do first? What do you do next? What comes after that? We care less about “why” you do it and more about “how”. Keep going through each step until you get to how you end the “program.” At some point you stop it don’t you? Write it out as if you are leaving instructions for your temporary worker to come in and do it for you so you can forget about the problem. What has to happen for you to start to not feel totally comfortable and confident? What’s the first thing? Do you see something or someone? What? Do you say something to yourself? What? Whose voice is it? Do you get a feeling in your body? Where? Does the feeling move? Does it have a shape? Does it have a color, a texture? Density? Write all this down so you can see it in black and white.

3. Jam Your “Program” – At any point if you change a significant element of how you do your “shyness program”, it will cause the program to jam.

For example let’s say in the past you’d see a hot babe and say to yourself. “oh my god she’s so hot… I’ll never be able to get a woman like that” in that sad hopeless wimpy little voice you hear in your head. Next you’d feel a sinking feeling in your stomach that was the size of a grapefruit with the density of a bowling ball.To Jam it you could do this instead: “Oh my gawd she’s so HOT! “ with An exaggerated lip licking smirk and then a playfully predatory “YUUUUUM!” And then shrink down the grapefruit sized feeling to a wiffle ball and push it out 3 feet in front of your body and smack that old crappy feeling with a baseball bat out of the park.Again for the sake of this example, I don’t know what you do specifically. But you know don’t you? Walk yourself through it and write it down. Then mess with it. Play with it. Run it backwards. Scramble it. Do the picture first and then the voice. Try different voices. Mickey Mouse, the Jolly green giant. Some really sexy babe. Repeat as needed.

4. Change your beliefs.

You probably believe you’re shy. How do you know? How do you know you’re not just pretending to be shy in order to get out of having to be successful in all areas of your life? I spend a lot more time on this in my Modern Jedi NLP Training but here’s the least you need to know.

• Beliefs filter our reality. What you believe becomes so. Change the belief. Change your reality. We represent our beliefs to ourselves internally through the pictures, self talk and feelings we run. For example, I hold my “true” beliefs directly in front of me on my mental screen. My old beliefs are down and to my left and slightly behind me. Beliefs I want to be true but don’t quite feel true yet are up and to my left.
• Here’s how to change a belief. When I first stopped being shy. I noticed that the belief that I was shy was right smack in front of me. The belief that I wanted to have, namely that I was the guy with charisma and confidence in any social situation, the guy who could strike up a conversation anywhere at anytime with the most powerful CEO or the most Babe-A-Licious hottie was up and to my left. When I took the shyness belief and slammed it down and left and a bit behind me (to my old beliefs) and powerfully pulled in the desired belief into the very center of my mental screen making it bigger and brighter, I suddenly felt different. Shyness gone. Poof! Holy crap!
• Results you can notice immediately. It totally changed my experience. Ten minutes later I found myself chatting with a gorgeous hottie as we both got our UPS delivery in the lobby of my apartment building. I did have to practice this occasionally. But so what? What was so cool about this was that I wasn’t “forcing” myself to talk with her. It was suddenly the most natural and comfortable thing to do. Want some?When you think of a belief that’s true for you notice where on your internal screen it shows up. Typically your limiting belief “I’m shy” will show up in your “true” spot.
• When you think of a belief about yourself that’s no longer true, (like you are no longer 12) notice where on your mental screen that shows up.
• Think about a belief you would like to have. Notice where that one shows up.
• Now move the  crappy belief about being shy to your old beliefs spot. Slam your desired belief about being charismatic and totally confident and comfortable in social situations into the place you hold your true beliefs.
• How does that feel?

It’s like reprogramming the VCR.

What has shyness prevented you from doing?

About the Author: Mark Shepard, NLPT is a Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP, Hypnosis & Time Line Therapy. Read his blog: Modernjedi.com

1. Tee-Off

For some reason, many people like to start off their speeches by explaining to everyone why they’re such terrible speakers. Why would someone do this? That’s setting yourself up for a terrible speech without even making one! The word tee-off is from golf where your objective is to start off each course by hitting the ball off the tee. Pretty simple concept. In public speaking, it means practically the same thing in the sense that your starting off your speech. Just like in golf, your first shot can vastly improve your score or hurt it, your opening line during a speech will affect you in the same way.  Some of the lamest ways to start off a speech:

• I’m not a good public speaker…
• I’m so happy to be here today…
• I’m sorry I didn’t have time to prepare…
• I apologize, this is my first time speaking to an audience…
• I hope I don’t come across too nervous tonight…

2. Telling Jokes

Now some people are great at telling jokes, but most people suck. So if you know that you’re a terrible joke teller, please refrain from starting your speech with a joke. Even comics know that sometimes their jokes aren’t funny until the audience warms up a bit. For amateur joke teller, telling a terrible joke will instantly make you believe that you suck, thereby ruining your mindset. After this feeling, a person might end up speeding through the rest of the speech and suck some more.

3. Mimicking Other Speakers

Your intentions might be in the right place, but if you mimic another speaker, you’re setting yourself up to become the short end of the stick. What I mean by that is that you’ll be viewed as the guy who acts like that other guy. Or if you suck at mimicking, you’ll be viewed as the guy who tries to act like that other guy. This eliminates your individuality and doesn’t set you aside far enough to be noticed. Yes there are a very few number of people who can mimic someone else and do a great job, but chances are it’s not you . Be unique.

4. Reading Verbatim

Reading verbatim has to me always been a surefire indicator of a very boring speech. When someone reads off of their notes verbatim, they kill the potential creativity, enthusiasm, and overall excitement. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s always a fantastic idea to have notes in front of you. Even take a  glimpse at your notes if you have to, but reading it word for word is one of the worst things you can do. If your focusing on what your going to say next, you won’t be able to read what your audience likes or dislikes. This ruins your chances in building rapport with the group.

5. Act as Stiff

Since so many people are self conscious about the way they’re dressed, the way they look, whether they’re too fat, too skinny, etc. It becomes a challenge to focus on anything else. One of the biggest mistakes you can do while public speaking is stand stiff. By not moving on stage, you are showing off signs of uncomfortableness and a lack of confidence.  Remember, your body has the ability to amplify your energy and enthusiasm better than anything else.

There are obviously more than 5 mistakes someone can make while speaking in public, but I felt as if these 5 are the most critical indicators to make one suck.  Now that your aware of what you shouldn’t do, stay tuned for the 2nd part of this 2 part series on what you should do.

What are some of the biggest mistakes you have seen during a speech?