If you are planning to speak about something in front of an audience, you must know a lot about the topic - on average, 3 times as much as you're going to speak about it.

• Speak directly to the members in your audience; look at a single person at a time, focus on them, and talk to them like you would have in a normal face to face conversation. This will help you see if they are following along.
• Listen to your audience

Facts with no meaning are dull.

Your speech should be a process of truthful exploration, almost like a journey you are taking your audience along.

You too should be able to learn something from your talk. So take this as an opportunity to think on your feet.

You may have to speak with notes when you are a beginner. Notes are a sort of safety net: If you use them, the probability to fail is minimal.