12 Public Speaking Tips for Presenting at Work

Most public speaking advice is written for the stage. Most of the speaking people do at work happens in a meeting room: a project update to senior management, a pitch to a client, a proposal to a committee, a few minutes on a town hall call. These are the tips we give in our public speaking and presentation courses for that kind of speaking, grouped by when you need them.

The short version

1. Plan for the audience before you plan your content.

2. Know your one message and your ask.

3. Learn your structure, and let the words change.

4. Rehearse out loud, on your feet, against the clock.

5. Calm your body before you try to calm your mind.

6. Know your first minute cold.

7. Pause where you would say "um".

8. Land each sentence on one person.

9. Give every gesture a job.

10. Slow down on the part that matters.

11. Answer questions with your point first.

12. Say "I don't know" and give a date, rather than guessing.

Before you speak

1. Plan for the audience before you plan your content

In our workshops we sometimes ask two people to draw a cake as a gift for each other. Most people draw the cake they would like. Very few ask first. Presentations get built the same way: we open with the background we find important, in the order we worked it out.

Before you write anything, answer three questions about the people in the room. What do they already know? What do they need to know? What do they care about? A finance committee, a sales team and a group of engineers need different openings, different evidence and different words for the same proposal. Use the terms they use in their own work.

2. Know your one message and your ask

If you cannot say your main point in one sentence, the audience will not be able to either. Write it down, along with what you want the audience to do or decide when you finish. Everything else in the talk is there to support those two lines. When time runs short, anything that does not support them is what you cut.

3. Learn your structure, and let the words change

Memorising a script word for word makes you fragile: one forgotten line and the whole sequence stalls. Learn the order of your points instead, so you can say each one in whatever words come naturally on the day. A simple test: talk through the presentation with the slides off. If you can, you know it well enough.

4. Rehearse out loud, on your feet, against the clock

Reading your notes silently is not rehearsal. Stand up, say it out loud, and time it. Most people run long the first time, because explaining takes longer than reading.

One exercise we use at the start of a course: give a 60-second version of your talk to a colleague, then ask them to rate from 1 to 10 how convinced they were and why. Do it again after you have worked on it. The common problems show up in the first round: not knowing where to start, running out of time, and too much detail.

Handling nerves

5. Calm your body before you try to calm your mind

Nerves are physical first: a faster heartbeat, shallow breathing, a tight voice. Telling yourself to relax rarely works. Slowing your breathing does. Before you start, take a few slow breaths, with the out-breath longer than the in-breath. In our full-day public speaking course we open with a short breathing exercise for this reason.

It also helps to notice what you are telling yourself. "They will see I am nervous" can become "they want this meeting to go well too". Most audiences at work are on your side: they want the time to be useful.

6. Know your first minute cold

Nerves are usually worst in the first minute, and that minute also sets the audience's first impression. Learn your opening lines well enough to say them on autopilot: who you are if they do not know you, why this matters to them, and what you will ask for at the end. Once you are through the opening, the rest comes more easily. This is the one part of the talk where knowing the exact words helps. For seven ways to open, with example lines, see our guide on how to start a presentation.

While you speak

7. Pause where you would say "um"

Filler words are what your mouth does while your brain finds the next thought. Replace them with silence. A pause of two or three seconds feels long to you and normal to the audience, and it gives them time to take in what you just said. Record yourself once, count the fillers, then practise pausing in their place.

Pauses also work on purpose. Pause before your key message and after it, so it stands apart from the sentences around it.

8. Land each sentence on one person

Scanning the room quickly looks nervous, and staring at the screen or the back wall loses the room. Instead, look at one person for a whole sentence or thought, then move to someone else for the next one. When you make your ask, look at the person who makes the decision. On a video call, the camera is that person: look at it when you make your main point.

9. Give every gesture a job

Hands are a problem only when they have nothing to do. Give them a job that matches what you are saying: hold up fingers as you count points, point to the part of the slide you are talking about, show size with your hands, or use one hand for "this option" and the other for "that one". Between gestures, rest them loosely at your sides or in front of you, where the audience can see them.

10. Slow down on the part that matters

Most people speed up when they are nervous, and the important parts get rushed along with everything else. Vary your pace on purpose. Slow down for your main message, stress the number you want them to remember, and slow down again for your ask. Speed up a little on background they already know.

Handling questions

11. Answer questions with your point first

Long answers that never reach a conclusion are a problem we see often in question-and-answer practice. Give your answer in the first sentence, then the reason, then an example, then repeat the answer. This is often called the PREP structure: point, reason, example, point.

With difficult questions, acknowledge the question first ("That's a fair concern"), give your bottom line, then connect it back to your main message. If you need a moment to think, repeat or paraphrase the question. It buys you time and checks you have understood it.

12. Say "I don't know" and give a date, rather than guessing

A confident guess that turns out wrong costs more credibility than an honest "I don't know". Say you will find out, and say when: "I don't have that number with me. I'll send it to you by Thursday." Then send it.

Practise one thing at a time

Twelve tips are too many to work on at once. Pick the one that would make the biggest difference for you, and practise only that one in your next three presentations. Ask a colleague to watch for it. When it becomes habit, pick the next one.

A quick self-check after your next presentation, from the behaviours our trainers look for:

• I spoke without filler words, and paused at the right moments.

• I stressed the key words and slowed down on my main message.

• I held eye contact with individuals, including the decision-maker on my ask.

• My gestures matched what I was saying, and my hands were visible.

• I answered questions with my point first.

• The audience could repeat my main message afterwards.

If you would like your team to practise these with a trainer, our public speaking course is run in-house for teams, built around the presentations they give at work. Comparing options first? See our guide to the best public speaking courses in Singapore, which includes funded courses from other providers.

Article Written By: Kai Xin Koh

Kai Xin Koh co-founded HighSpark and led its training practice, helping professionals win support for their ideas through clearer, more persuasive communication. She was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list.

Frequently asked questions

How do you stop saying “um” and “ah” during a speech?

Replace filler words with a pause. Record yourself once and count your fillers, then practise pausing silently wherever you would have said “um”. A two or three second pause feels long to you but normal to the audience, and it gives them time to take in your point.

Where should you look when speaking to an audience?

Look at one person for a whole sentence or thought, then move to someone else for the next one. Avoid scanning quickly or staring at the screen. When you make your main point or your ask, look at the decision-maker. On a video call, look at the camera.

How do you look confident when you feel nervous?

Slow your breathing before you start, with the out-breath longer than the in-breath. Stand still with your weight on both feet, keep your hands visible, and know your first minute well enough to say it on autopilot. Nerves usually ease once the opening is done.

How can I get better at public speaking at work?

Pick one habit, such as pausing instead of saying “um”, and practise only that in your next three presentations, with a colleague watching for it. Rehearse out loud and against the clock. A course with a trainer and video feedback speeds this up, because most people cannot see their own habits.