Today’s writing prompt:  We all know how to do something well — write a post that teaches readers how to do something you know and/or love to do.

I speak well in public. I enjoy talking in front of groups of people, typically the bigger the crowd, the happier I am doing it. It all started at a young age–and for that I’ve already thanked the elementary school teachers who made me do solos in school plays.

One of my first “big” groups where I was in the spotlight was at my college graduation. As the class president I had to make a speech at commencement. I worked on it for several weeks leading up to the big day. It helped that the person in charge of commencement (Victoria) set up some pretty strict deadlines for drafts and revisions, as well as practice sessions. I’d stand in her office and while she busied herself with another task, she would listen. In Victoria’s eyes, nothing can replace huge amounts of preparation.

I’ve picked up some other tips over many years, so cannot take credit for them being original (see them below). Therefore, today’s thank you goes to all the people whose advice and tips have helped me be a successful public speaker!

• Know your subject.
• Practice, practice, practice.
• Pay attention to the punctuation.
• Make sure you bend your knees a little, keep them soft. I’m not sure how it helps, but, when I’ve done it I feel way better.
• Look beyond your audience. If you look to the back of the room, just skimming over the heads of audience members, it looks like you’re making eye contact with “someone” but you’re really just looking to the back of the room.
• Enjoy yourself!

Other Bloggers Who do Things Well, Too:

• Life Is Messy | The Photo Faith Challenge
• Consider teacher turnover rate when choosing a school | DCMontreal: Blowing the Whistle on Society
• 5 Sneaky Ways to Teach Your Children Organizational Habits | Organize Professionally
• Eulogy Heard By Nobody | The Jittery Goat
• Photo tips for watery bloggers | Exploratorius | Photo Hack & Curious Wanderer
• DP Daily Prompt: Teach Your(Blogger) well | Sabethville
• Blogging for small business owners | Now Have At It!
• A Teacher for Life | Retrofocus