Want to be a public speaking pro? Two UBC Sauder students share 10 techniques to go from nervous wreck to eloquent orator

Many of us have been there: standing in front of an audience, sweaty-palmed and short of breath. The well-rehearsed first line of a speech that was once on the tip of the tongue, now nowhere to be found. A crowd of expectant onlookers staring back, a silence punctured only by the occasional dry cough and impatient shuffling in seats.

Even the most confident public speakers rely on methods to keep their nerves in check and their words flowing smoothly. UBC Bachelor of Commerce students Makayla Zuberbier and Keisha Rutega can attest to that. As the winner and runner-up, respectively, of the 2023 UBC Sauder Public Speaking Competition, these students know how to command a room. The good news for the rest of us? They say it’s not about the absence of fear, but rather figuring out ways to conquer it.

Here are their 10 pointers to shine as a public speaker:  

The preparation phase…

• 1.  Enroll in extracurriculars that put you on a stage   

Rutega: “I’ve been in musical theatre from a young age. Once I started performing and singing on stage, that’s when I really gained my confidence. I’m also a singer and I perform at small events in Vancouver, which has helped a lot.”

Zuberbier: “My mom also signed me up for musical theatre when I was in grade five because I absolutely hated public speaking and I couldn’t even raise my hand to talk in class. Although singing in front of people still terrifies me, I became a lot more comfortable with presenting to an audience. Musical theatre and other on-stage activities are a fun way to overcome those jitters.”

• 2.  Observe great orators and mimic their behaviours

Rutega: “I’ve always loved watching TED Talks to observe how people behave on stage. I spend my free time doing it. Instead of watching a TV show, I’ll often turn on a TED Talk. You learn what works and what doesn’t, and how to connect to an audience. Michelle Obama is someone I admire because she is able to make people in the audience relate to her and her experiences.”

• 3.  Don’t just practice your words, practice your intonation and body language too

Zuberbier: “I practice what I am going to say in my speech, but I also rehearse different types of intonation, when to take my pauses, as well as any pacing or body language that I’m going to do. If I leave it to the day of the presentation, my brain turns off and I start gesturing too much. If you practice ahead of time, then you can go on autopilot in the moment.”

• 4.  Visit the presentation room ahead of time

Zuberbier: “Two or three days before the presentation, I’ll go to the room that I’ll be presenting in and walk around. I position myself where I’ll be standing, and also from the vantage point of the audience, so I can see what I will look like from their perspective. That way, when I’m practicing at home, I can close my eyes and imagine myself back in that space. On the day of, I feel comfortable because I’ve already been there.”

When it’s show time…

• 5.  Walk in with energetic confidence   

Rutega: “It’s super important to walk in with confidence. Tell yourself, ‘No matter what happens, I’m going to make sure the audience is intrigued and engaged in the presentation.’ It’s okay to deviate from what you’ve rehearsed. The audience doesn’t know the original wording so you can go up there and say anything, as long as you have that confidence.”

Zuberbier: “My Dad always gave me the advice to stomp twice, clap, and give a little yell before heading out on stage. You can even do a couple of jumping jacks on the spot. It helps release the nerves, gets your energy levels up, and makes you hyped to speak."

• 6.  Showcase your personality

Rutega: “The audience doesn’t want to see you stumble; they want to see you succeed. We’re all different and we all bring different things to the table. The surest way to captivate an audience is to showcase your personality and be your authentic self.” 

If you feel the nerves bubbling up… 

• 7. Make eye contact with someone in the audience

Zuberbier: “I like to invite at least one or two friends to be in the audience. I ask them to sit in different parts of the room. If I start to feel the jitters setting in, I’ll make direct eye contact with them. They know that if I’m staring at them, I am freaking out, so they’ll nod encouragingly and smile.”

Rutega: “I intentionally look at a stranger, but it has to be someone who is paying attention and looks engaged. At one point during the UBC Sauder Public Speaking Competition, I felt the nerves creep in, and I looked at this stranger who was smiling and that changed everything for me.”

• 8. Avoid saying “um” by using the power of the pause

Zuberbier: “Pauses are important and even if they feel awkward and uncomfortable to you, they can be a really powerful tool. To stop myself from saying ‘um’ or ‘uh’ during transitions from one point to another, I’ll pause, scan the room, and move to a different side of the stage. It gives the audience time to absorb what you’ve just said and it looks deliberate.”

• 9. Use a prop to help tell a story

Zuberbier: “In our Comm 395 Business Communications class, we had to use a prop for one of our presentations. It was an interesting experience because having a tangible item that you can show your audience really grounds your speech and makes it easier to understand, especially if you’re using a broader metaphor. I brought a lamp with me to the Public Speaking Competition to demonstrate things that we take for granted in life but are important to how we view the world around us."

• 10. Build in time to improvise and keep slide decks highly visual

Rutega: “Building in time to improvise can really help if you start feeling nervous and find yourself getting off track. In the Comm 395 class, we learned the Pecha Kucha storytelling format where you have to present 20 slides, each with 20 seconds of commentary. That type of presentation has to be intricately planned out, but you should still leave time in your script in case you have to recalibrate your wording. The Pecha Kucha format also taught me the value of imagery. Less is more when it comes to text on a slide deck, so use pictures to keep the attention of the audience."   

Want to see Rutega and Zuberbier’s advice in action? View clips of their winning presentations and learn more about the UBC Sauder Public Speaking Competition here.