I had the opportunity recently to survey senior managers in communications, public relations, etc - all people for whom public speaking is high on their agenda, either becuase they;

• have to do a lot of it, or
• get to hear a lot of it, or
• have to advise fellow colleagues and employees about it. 

I asked them for the top three charateristics of people whose public speaking abilities they really admired.  Here's what they said (in no particular order):

• Confidence on stage
• Knowledgeable about their subject
• Engaging to listen to - variation in tone, avoiding "urm, err" etc.
• Speaking without notes
• Ability to inject different emotions into their presentations
• Ability to tell jokes, without it appearing contrived
• I admire any speaker who has thought through and rehearsed his or her speech, speaks clearly and uses anecdotes as examples
• Simplicity, assurance, visual appearance are positives
• Great story telling
• Putting across just one or two pieces of really good 'killer information'
• Appear to be able to extemptorize, without too many notes
• Speakers who are able to 'think on their feet'
• People who have the ability to 'engage' the audience throughout
• Being able to pause comfortably
• Not using a (written) speech, or too many notes
• Being able to engage with the audience - ask them questions, etc. 

What a valuable resource this list is.

Here, from the horse's mouth (so to speak) are the elements of public speaking that excite people who deal with this stuff every day!  Looking at it you might think, 'hey, these 16 things seem like common sense to me', and great for you if that's the case - so how come we witness so many people straying away from what appears to be such 'common sense'?

It's my belief - built on observation - that people get in the way of themselves when in comes to performing on stage (or in front of a camera or microphone). They insist on (unconciously) putting barriers between them and the audience.  Certainly, most of my training and coaching time is spent removing these barriers (by actively replacing them with other actions).

Look back at those 16 elements.  Is there really anything to be afraid of?  No, of course there isn't - the issue is simply one of learning and applying (very specific) techniques to render those elements effective on stage.

I'd be delighted to read your views on what you think makes a really effective speaker, so feel free to post your comments.