The JRNY
Resilience and Leadership, Australia
Drawn from 3 conversations on The JRNY
Every quote below names the person who said it and the episode it came from, so you can go and hear it in context.
Public speaking tips are practical ways to prepare a message, deliver it to a group and review what happened afterwards. Their job is to help you say something useful, even when you feel awkward doing it.
This page checks the standard advice against three people's experience of real rooms: Perth content strategist and podcast host Keoni Upton, professional speaker Chris Smoje and business operator Leon Pascarl. The examples come from their conversations with Paul Cohalan on The JRNY. They are personal accounts, not a study of what works for everyone.
Public speaking tips at a glance
- Name the difficulty if telling the room would help you.
- Prepare your message rather than memorising every word.
- Use an analogy from everyday life.
- Check that your audience shares your references.
- Leave room for a pause.
- Treat nerves as something you can speak alongside.
- Take a manageable speaking opportunity before you feel fully ready.
- Rehearse aloud for the people who will actually be there.
- Review one thing to improve after each attempt.
1. Name the difficulty if telling the room would help
Decide before you start whether there is something you want the audience to know. Keep the explanation brief, then move to what you came to say.
On episode 15 with Keoni Upton, Keoni describes holding back because he was worried about his stutter. He was 20 at the time of the conversation and already hosting his own podcast.
I'm forcing myself to be quiet in rooms where I shouldn't be.
He credits Perth public speaking specialist Shil Shanghavi with an approach he was learning: make the room aware without framing the stutter as something requiring an apology. Keoni's own explanation of the difference:
When someone says to you, "Oh, sorry, I got this wrong," you subconsciously think, "Oh, I'm so sorry about that." But when saying, "Bear with me, I have a stutter today," it's like, "Oh, okay." It's the way you're saying it.
There is a limit to the story. Later in the conversation, Keoni says he had not actually told someone when his stutter was bad; he had pushed through. It was an approach he was still practising, not a finished success story. Paul describes his own habit of telling a room he gets nervous before he starts. Disclosure is an option, not an obligation.
2. Prepare your message rather than memorising every word
Write down the point you need to make and the examples that support it. Try explaining that point in different words.
Chris Smoje, a customer service expert, author and speaker, describes the difference on episode 13. He has found himself still assembling content in his head while speaking, and noticed the energy was missing. His emphasis is on understanding his own material and knowing the message.
Leon Pascarl's experience on episode 3 gives that advice a practical test. On his first day in a new job, he arrived in a suit, was handed a polo shirt and had to host a professional development day. He did not have the password for his laptop. Around 9:30 that night, among about 150 unread emails, he found the day's script.
Like I figured this is just how we do it. We wing it each time. But no, I had a full script.
He knew people in the room and got through the day. That is not a reason to skip preparation. It is a reason to prepare the substance, so you can keep going when the planned words are not there.
3. Use an analogy from everyday life
Choose one ordinary situation that explains the difficult part of your topic. Make the connection, then return to the subject.
When Paul asks Chris what he does about nerves, Chris acknowledges there are plenty of calming techniques, then gives the one that works for him.
When you use an analogy or a metaphor, what I've noticed is your whole demeanour changes.
He demonstrates it on the spot, comparing showing up at work after a good or bad day with the sun coming up again, and points out that he is smiling as he says it. His more concrete example is reading an insurance product disclosure statement: he compares it with deciphering a parking sign carrying several conflicting time restrictions. It gives the listener an ordinary situation to picture before returning to the document, and it relaxes the speaker as much as the audience.
4. Check that your audience shares your references
Chris places a condition on his analogy advice. In his view, television and film references are a poor default because the audience may not watch what you watch.
Seriously, never quote TV or movies.
He explicitly presents this as his own advice. His reason is the spread of channels, streaming services and viewing habits. He recalls using a Groundhog Day analogy and having someone ask what it meant.
You do not need to make his rule universal to use the lesson. Check the reference against the actual audience. A familiar industry example may work among colleagues and need explaining at a community event.
5. Leave room for a pause
Put a pause after the main point rather than immediately starting the next sentence. If you lose your place, stop and look at your notes before continuing.
In the conversation with Leon, Paul talks about reviewing whether he had spoken too fast. His advice includes a very short permission:
It's okay to pause.
Try marking two places in your notes where you will stop speaking for a moment. During rehearsal, finish the sentence and actually leave the gap.
6. Treat nerves as something you can speak alongside
Paul's view, in that same discussion, is that an audience can appreciate someone making the effort to get up and host, even when they look nervous. He connects the nerves with caring about doing the job.
The useful part is to stop treating visible nerves as proof that the talk has failed. Ask a more concrete question instead: did you explain what the listener needed?
Before speaking, choose that as the task. For a team update, it might be explaining the decision and what happens next.
7. Take a manageable opportunity before you feel fully ready
Leon's first day gave him very little choice. Your next attempt can be smaller: introduce a colleague, ask a question at an event or deliver one part of a team presentation.
Keoni's experience includes approaching Paul at a keynote event and asking about his business. Paul recalls that encounter in their episode. It is a useful example because it is an introduction and a conversation, not a polished stage performance.
Paul's view is that doing it once gives you an experience to draw on next time. The advice here is to choose a setting you can manage and a clear job to do.
8. Rehearse aloud for the people who will be there
The ordinary tips for public speaking still earn their place. Marjorie North's public speaking guidance for Harvard DCE recommends practice, audience awareness, an outline, a deliberate opening and restrained use of visual aids.
For your next talk, try these preparation steps:
- Say the opening aloud and time a complete run.
- Ask what the audience already knows and what needs explaining.
- Open with a concrete example or question connected to your point.
- Check your pace with a listener and mark where to slow down.
- Keep only slides that clarify something you are saying.
9. Review one thing to improve after each attempt
After Leon's account of hosting, he and Paul discuss looking back constructively rather than picking on yourself. The distinction matters: a useful review names something you can change.
Write down one thing that landed, one thing that was unclear and one adjustment for next time. If you have a recording, check the part you are unsure about rather than judging the whole talk from how nervous you remember feeling.
For example, replace a general verdict about being bad at presentations with a specific observation: the opening took too long to reach the point.
Common habits and alternatives to try
| Common habit | Alternative from these conversations |
|---|---|
| Apologise for a speech difference | Consider naming it briefly, as Keoni was learning to do |
| Depend on an exact script | Know the message, as Chris emphasises |
| Explain jargon with more jargon | Try Chris's everyday analogy |
| Fill every silence | Allow the pause Paul describes |
| Wait until nerves disappear | Try a manageable speaking task, then review it |
If you have a stutter or a speech difference
Keoni describes his stutter becoming worse when he has not had enough sleep. At times, even an introduction is difficult:
I can't even say my own name to really introduce myself to someone.
Read that alongside his admission that he was still learning. Telling the room and asking them to bear with you is one option, not a requirement, and this is one person's account rather than guidance on managing a stutter.
Where to go from here
The full conversations and transcripts let you read the context around each example.
- Episode 15: Keoni Upton, 240 Volts and a Global Vision, on a stutter, introductions and learning to speak up.
- Episode 13: Chris Smoje, Why People Really Buy, on knowing your message and using an everyday analogy.
- Episode 3: Hold a Mirror Up, with Leon Pascarl, on hosting without the script and reviewing the attempt.
- Self Discipline: What It Is and How to Build It, on arranging practice you can repeat.
- What Is Adversity? Meaning, Types and Real Examples, on difficult circumstances and how people respond.
Common questions
- How do I get better at public speaking?
- Practise explaining one message out loud, then try it in a room you can manage. Ask a listener what they understood and review one specific thing to change. Public speaking skills build through repeated attempts with reflection, rather than through waiting to feel ready.
- How do I stop being nervous before speaking?
- You may still feel nervous when you start. Prepare the message and opening, leave room to pause and consider acknowledging your nerves briefly. Chris Smoje's suggestion is to use an everyday analogy, which he finds changes his demeanour.
- Is it normal to be nervous about public speaking?
- Yes. Both Keoni Upton and host Paul Cohalan describe getting nervous in front of people, and Harvard DCE's speaking guidance also treats nervousness as normal. Feeling nervous does not tell you whether the audience will understand your message.
- What are the most important public speaking tips?
- Know who you are speaking to, prepare a clear message and rehearse it aloud. Use an example the audience can follow, allow pauses and review the attempt afterwards. If acknowledging nerves or a speech difference would help you, decide how you want to do that before you begin.
- How do you speak in public with a stutter?
- Keoni Upton discusses letting people know about his stutter without apologising for it, an approach he was still learning from Shil Shanghavi. He also says he had not yet used that disclosure when it was bad. This is his experience, not a treatment or a requirement to disclose a speech difference.
- How long does it take to get comfortable with public speaking?
- These episodes do not establish a timetable. Leon Pascarl describes getting through a day of hosting while nervous, while Keoni Upton describes something he is still learning. Judge the next attempt by what you can explain and what you change afterwards, rather than a promised number of days.