Personal Strength: I do well with coming up with speaking content and making presentations.
Personal Weakness: I get very nervous (sweaty, red ears and face, and shaky speech) when speaking in front of large groups.
I have always been a "people person" and never been the quiet type by any means, but I still get very nervous when it comes to public speaking. One thing that has always helped me is to practice my presentation/speech to a smaller group of people. This allows me to practice what I am going to say and also allows me to get valuable feedback from my audience and make changes where need be.
Here are some other ways to help get the most bang for your buck when it comes to presentations according www.inc.com:
Harness the power of genuine emotion: "When you share genuine feelings, you create an immediate and lasting connection with the audience. Emotion trumps speaking skills every time."
Always have a secondary goal: "If you see you won't get what you really want, ask what can you accomplish? Then, when the room doesn't go your way, you can stay positive, focused, and on top of your speaking game."
Always give the audience something to take home: "Inspiration is great, but application is everything: Never be afraid to say, "Tonight, think of an employee who is really struggling... and then tomorrow, do (this) and (this) to try to rescue them."
Don't wait to answer questions: "The best presentations feel like conversations, even if one-sided...so never ignore the opportunity to foster that sense of interaction. Never do anything to disengage your audience."
Fuel up wisely: "Dopamine and epinephrine help regulate mental alertness. Both come from tyrosine, an amino acid found in proteins. So make sure to include protein in the meal you eat before you need to be at your best."
Burn off some cortisol: "The easiest way to burn off cortisol is to exercise. Work out before you leave for work, take a walk at lunch, or hit the gym before a speaking engagement. (If you've ever felt more grounded after slogging through a solid workout, you now know why.)"
Create a pre-presentation ritual: "create a routine that helps center you emotionally. Walk the room ahead of time to check sight lines. Check microphone levels. Run through your presentation at the site to ensure it's ready to go."
Never make excuses: "Excuses won't make your audience cut you any slack, but they will make people think, "Then why are you wasting my time?"
Do what you need to do to ensure you don't need to make excuses."
Keep your slides simple and never read your slides: "Your audience should be able to almost instantly scan your slides--if they have to actually read, you might lose them. And you'll definitely lose them if you read to them. Your slides should accentuate your points; they should never be the point."
Use the power of repetition: "Since no one can remember everything you say, what you repeat has a much greater chance of being remembered--and being acted upon. So repeat away!"
Cut it short: If you have thirty minutes, take 25. if you have an hour take 50 minutes. Invite the audience to ask questions or see you after the presentation.
("16 Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Presentation Skills From 16 Powerful TED Talks," 2016).
References
16 Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Presentation Skills From 16 Powerful TED Talks. (2016, August 3). Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/16-ways-to-dramatically-improve-your-presentation-skills-from-16-powerful-ted-ta.html