Make sure that you stay focused once you get out there and start talking. Your message will not be received well if you go too far off topic. Do everything you can to stay on the original topic, or you may risk scaring away a large portion of your audience.
Make sure you wear a supportive pair of shoes when you do public speaking. You want your posture to be tall and confident, with open and relaxed shoulders so you portray confidence. If you get tense on stage from feet, knee or low back pain, it will affect your speech greatly.
Do not allow anything to distract you while you are speaking in public. It is crucial that you don't participate in activities like twiddling your thumbs or jingling keys. This will give your audience the idea that you would rather be doing something else than be there talking to them.
Get to know the room in which you are going to speak publicly. Test the acoustics and the mic to see how much you have to project. If there is equipment you'll be using, learn about it before the speech. Visual aids can be very important in your speech. Look at how far away the entire audience will be.
All individuals have the potential to speak well in front of an audience. All you need to do is take the time to learn how to approach it best and then practice, practice, practice. Practicing is key, and the more you do it, the better your speech will be. When your next speech comes around, look back over this article to help yourself prepare. It's not as terrible as you may fear.