1

Don't speak quickly

• When you are nervous, the tendency is always to speak quickly.
• Try to remember to speak slowly and clearly, just like your mother taught you....

2

Don't mumble into your shirt or at the floor

• You can get around this by looking at your audience when you speak.
• Don't focus on just one person, but look around the room a bit.

3

Don't hide behind the lectern or the computer screen

• Move to the side, or make sure people can see you easily.

4

Don't talk to the screen that you are projecting your talk onto

• The audience is usually in front of you, not behind you ....

5

Don't just read from your notes

• Notes should be there to prompt you with what to say, not to read from.  This comes with experience and many people need to work up from notes to an ad lib style.
• Reading from notes leaves you open for catastrophe if they get out of order or if you drop them all on the floor.

6

Don't try to bribe your audience with food and/or drink

• Sure, it's great to have someone produce food/drink/sweets at a meeting, but that usually comes across as a thinly veiled attempt to distract your audience from what you are talking about.