My tips for public speaking come from a lifelong experience with a fear on the entire topic until my early twenties. As a child I was terrified of crowds, especially talking in front of others. I couldn’t even manage to raise my hand in class and answer a question, much less get up in front of hundreds of people and deliver a speech. Lucky for me, my love for public speaking actually found me when I received a wonderful job offer with United Way, working for a children’s shelter, where I was to deliver speeches for my job, promoting child abuse awareness based on my past experience with the issue as a child. Luckily, by this point in my life, I was already very comfortable speaking in front of others after participating in pageants as a teen. Before pageants, I was very awkward and uncomfortable in front of others, but after doing several, I found speaking in front of other people quite easy with a few tips I learned through public speaking training. This prepared me for the job I would hold with United Way, and though I am no longer delivering speeches as my current job, public speaking is something I truly enjoy. If you’re terrified of speaking in front of others, there are 10 key pointers I learned along the way that I feel would benefit anyone. Read on to find on what my top tips are and be sure to share your ideas with me if you have any too.