Would You Like to Be a Better Public Speaker?

Have you ever felt that flicker inside, the quiet belief that you could be a far more confident, compelling, and influential speaker than you are today? Many people feel it. They sense there’s another version of themselves waiting to step forward… but something keeps it just out of reach.

At Mindful Presenter, we believe in something far more empowering:  you already have everything you need to speak with confidence, clarity, and purpose.

Not someday or after years of practice, but now.

The ability to connect, hold attention, and move people isn’t reserved for the naturally gifted. It isn’t a talent you’re born with or a skill only a few possess because it’s a mindset that already exists within you, waiting to be activated. Whether you’re presenting in a team meeting, updating senior leaders, or speaking to clients, the most important tool you have isn’t your slides, your script, or your experience.

It’s your mind

George Bernard Shaw once said, “Two percent of the people think; three percent of the people think they think; and ninety‑five percent of the people would rather die than think.”

It’s a provocative line and a challenge to pause for a moment and examine the way we think, especially when we speak, because most of us believe we’re thinking clearly… but are we?

Becoming a better public speaker isn’t complicated

It’s simple, but not easy, because it takes courage, awareness, and a willingness to look inward. If you take the journey, you’ll find yourself connecting with people in ways you never imagined possible.

Here are three steps that will set you firmly on that path.

Step 1 — Give Yourself a Break

The biggest barrier to confident speaking isn’t the audience, our content, the meeting room, or the slides.

It’s the noise in our own heads.

During our presentation training courses, we see the same pattern play out again and again. Someone stands to speak, takes a breath, opens their mouth, and then the real battle begins, not with the audience, but with themselves.

It starts quietly. A tiny voice whispers, “Your voice sounds strange.” Then another joins in: “You’re talking too fast… no, too slow… now you sound unsure.”

None of it is true or visible to anyone else, but it feels true, and that feeling alone is enough to shake even the most capable professional.

People don’t lose confidence because they’re bad speakers; they lose confidence because their mind convinces them they are.

Before long, the mind is running its own commentary, zooming in on every imagined flaw; the way you’re standing, the way your hands move, the way your face looks when you try to smile.

Then the deeper doubts creep in; they can see you’re nervous, and you’re messing this up, and you don’t belong at the front of this room.

The first step to becoming a better public speaker is simple:

Stop criticising yourself

That doesn’t mean ignoring genuine habits that need attention; it means separating reality from the stories your mind invents. If a habit is real, you can work on it, but if it’s just “head stuff,” let it go.

Give yourself a break, you deserve it.

Step 2 — Stop Feeding the Bogeyman

When I was a child, my parents warned me not to enter a certain room because “the bogeyman” was in there. It wasn’t kind, but it worked.

Many professionals create their own bogeyman, and it stops them from becoming better speakers.

It sounds like this:

• I bet they won’t like me.
• What if I freeze?
• What if they ask something I can’t answer?

These thoughts terrify us into silence, hesitation, or over-preparation, and the truth is that most of us would never speak to a friend the way we speak to ourselves.

If your best friend said, “What if I freeze?” you wouldn’t say, “Yes, you probably will.”
You’d reassure them, support them and help them breathe.

So, stop terrorising yourself with imaginary monsters. Replace the fear with a mental image that feels good, something that calms you, grounds you, or makes you smile.

Your mind created the bogeyman, and your mind can remove it.

Step 3 — Identify Your Strengths

Most speakers obsess over what they don’t like about themselves; they catalogue weaknesses, flaws, and imagined failings.

What many people don’t realise is that you become a better speaker by building on your strengths, not obsessing over your weaknesses.

Find someone you trust to watch you practise your next presentation.
Ask them to focus solely on what they like about the way you speak and insist they don’t make anything up just to be kind.

Ask them how you make them feel, and if it’s not what you intended, explore what needs to shift. Once you know your strengths, invest in them.
Amplify them and let them work for you.

Weaknesses matter, but strengths are what create impact. They’re the source of your authority, your presence, and your credibility. When you amplify them, your communication becomes clearer, more confident, and far more effective

Becoming a better speaker isn’t about perfection, it’s about awareness, intention, and the courage to think differently.
When you do, you’ll discover a version of yourself that can connect, inspire, and lead with far more confidence than you ever thought possible.

If you’d like to learn how to become a better public speaker:

– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.

– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.

– Get yourself some excellent presentation training

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