Make sure you know what you are talking about. If you are not familiar with the material, then it will show when you are talking about it. If it's something that is new to you, take the time before hand to learn as much as possible. If your subject is something you are passionate about then the audience will know it when they listen to you.

Dress the part! You are standing in front of people you want to take you seriously. If you are in old, tattered clothing, then nobody will take you seriously. Dress professionally in clean, fitted business or business casual clothing.

Remember to speak slowly and to enunciate your words. Make sure that you are loud enough so that the person in the back of the room can hear you clearly, and don't rely on a microphone to be heard.

Don't read straight from your notes. Glancing at them to remember where you are in your speech or presentation is ok, but don't spend the whole time looking at them.

Make eye contact with the audience! It does not have to be for a long time - just three or four seconds - then move on to someone else in the audience. It helps them to feel connected to what you are saying to them. Plus, you don't have to be tied to a podium! If at all possible, move around on the stage. This will help you to further connect to the audience.

It's ok to use a well-placed and appropriate joke during your presentation. It helps to relax both you as the presenter and the audience. It will help to make your speech be more interesting to listen to, and you will not be boring the audience to death.

Remember to breathe! While presentations and speeches are scary to do, you don't want to rush through them so fast that you are left breathless. If you do this then your audience will not learn anything about what you are giving your speech about. Well planned pauses during your presentation are great to get a point across and for dramatic purposes, plus they will allow you a moment to breathe.

Knowing when to stop talking about a subject is the mark of a great presenter. A speech that is too short will not get your point across, and too long will cause you to loose your audience. Remember that a speech has to have a beginning, middle and an end - just like any written paper.

Using audio-visual aids is a great way to get your point across. It is best to be safe and to check before your speech or presentation that everything you are using is set-up and properly functioning. You don't want to be in the middle of your speech, about to start with the visual aids, only to have them not work.

Practice as much as possible before-hand. Practice by yourself in front of a mirror, in front of friends, in front of family. If at all possible, go to the place where you will be giving your speech and practice there. You can also record yourself and then listen to it to get a better idea of what the audience will be hearing.

You may have been told before that when you are going to give a speech, the best place to practice is in front of a mirror. This is NOT true! If you practice in front of a mirror you will find yourself getting too hung up on your appearance and mannerisms and not get a true measure of how you will do. Find some semblance of an audience to rehearse - even if you're just lining up stuffed animals in folding chairs, this will work better than staring at yourself the entire time!

If you need to bring notes along to the podium with you to help you remember your place in the speech, try to have them written before-hand on notecards and not standard paper, as they will not provide as much of a distraction to the audience as you will not have to turn your page in any truly obvious way with the notecards.