This article covers some public speaking tips and strategies that you can use to improve your presentations in front of an audience.

1. Understand that being afraid of public speaking is quite common and also completely unnecessary.

2. Decide to love public presentations.

3. Practice your speaking techniques as often as possible to help build confidence.

4. Accept that its not truly the speaking that gives you anxiety.

5. Focus on your audience and not on your own performance.

6. Understand that your fear is coming from within your own head.

7. Be yourself when you speak. Your perspective is unique in human history.

8. Get them laughing inside 30 seconds.

9. Learn how to properly put together a presentation or a speech.

10. Understand Aristotle's 3 Appeals.

11. Understand Cicero's 6 parts of a speech.

12. Understand Cicero's 5 Canons

13. Face your 'fear of speaking', don't pretend it doesn't matter. It does because it shows you've learnt how to be afraid of things that don't exist.

14. Drop any belief that makes you feel bad. Just let it go. If others want to hang onto it, that's ok.

15. Audiences love speeches that end sooner than they expected. Don't disappoint them.

16. Be confident that you have something important to say.

17. Join a Toastmasters group.

18. Don't take yourself too seriously.

19. Keep your presentation interesting and your audience engaged. It's easy when you know how.

20. Doing a Powerpoint presentation? Don't resort to dull bullet-point lists. Each slide should be meaningless without you there.

21. Learn more about the power of persuasion. You'll be surprised how it effects your everyday life.

22. Do you know what logical fallacies are? Learn about them, and make sure you can defend against them in a debate.

23. Don't assume all the public speaking books are right. Think for yourself.

24. Always ask more questions while you are learning.

25. Learn to improvise during your speeches, and don't solely rely on your prepared notes.

26. Even better, practice your presentations without any notes at all.

27. Practice introducing other people who are also speaking.

28. Learn the difference between a debate and an argument.

29. Practice reading a eulogy.

30. Always try to get a good night's sleep before you have to do your presentation.

31. Never drink really cold water just before speaking.

32. Listen to speeches given by great orators. Be inspired.

33. The bottom line is you can speak. If you choose not to, because you think you're afraid for example, then you're no better off than a person who can't speak at all.