10 public speaking tips that are total garbage and make me want to scream
Do you hate public speaking?
If so, you’re not alone.
In fact, I would say it’s a pretty normal thing to hate public speaking.
That’s why there are tons of articles about public speaking tips online, and even more articles about how to overcome your fear of public speaking.
But do they actually help you improve your public speaking skills? Do they help you deal with your public speaking anxiety?
They didn’t help me.
Many years ago, I had an intense fear of public speaking.
Which is not ideal for an undergrad who wanted to go to grad school and become a professor.
So, I tried all kinds of “tips” and “tricks” and “hacks” to help me get better at public speaking, and most of it was complete garbage.
Most of this garbage advice is shared in articles about how to overcome your fear of public speaking, specifically (not just general public speaking tips). While I do think these tips are unhelpful for improving your public speaking skills, I think many of them are harmful to people who are fearful of public speaking.
For starters, I lost count of the number of times I’ve seen an introduction that says something like “your fear of public speaking will never go away, it’ll just be easier to deal with it.”
Like, wait--what?
That’s a giant red flag that the advice you’re about to read won’t actually help you. I mean, they’re kind of admitting it to you right in the introduction.
Imagine if you came across a blog post titled “10 tips to help you cook better meals” and in the opening paragraph you read something like, “Now, you’ll never really be good at cooking, but you can at least learn to tolerate your terrible cooking.”
You would close out of that blog and look for a different one!
And that is why I needed to write this blog post.
Sure, it’s a way to poke a little fun at some tips that make me roll my eyes. But, it’s also deeper than that.
These are the tips that keep popping up, article after article, even though they literally come with the disclaimer that “these don’t really work...but here they are anyway!”
They’re like the cough syrup of public speaking advice. Band-aids when you need stitches.
So I’m here to explain why each of these seemingly-helpful or seemingly-innocent pieces of advice are the reason you’re still stuck creating presentations that your audience doesn’t like and why you’re still stuck hating public speaking.
Because guess what -- it’s possible for you to not only overcome your fear of public speaking, but to enjoy creating and delivering presentations.
I’ve lived it and it’s not just survivor bias, because I ended up quitting my research/evaluation job so I could help other academics and researchers experience this too.
I’m Dr. Echo Rivera 👋 and I’m a presentation trainer for academics, researchers, and similar professionals.
If you want to make better presentations and overcome your public speaking anxieties, then the best place to start is this blog post and my FREE training video >>>
Ok, let’s get started with the 10 public speaking tips that are total garbage (and make me want to scream).
Ready?
Unhelpful Public Speaking Tip #1: Do Some Soul Searching
Self-reflection and introspection are really good things to do.
Spending time with our own thoughts is a critical step towards living a more intentional, thoughtful life that aligns with our values.
But it’s probably not going to help you create better presentations.
One purpose of “soul searching” is to do things like “decide what you really want as a public speaker.”
Why do I think this is so unhelpful?
Well, first, it’s because you’ve probably already done the “soul searching” needed if you’re looking for tips on how to improve your presentation skills.
In other words, the only people looking for public speaking advice are those who already care enough about their presentation impact in the first place. In my opinion, that means you’ve already done the “soul searching” you need for this skill.
Here, let’s do a fun quiz...
For every statement that’s true (for you), give yourself a 1.
For every statement that’s not true (for you), give yourself a 0.
Ready? Let’s begin!
You want your audience to pay attention to you when you give a presentation.
You want your audience to understand the material you share in a presentation.
You want your audience to remember the info you give in a presentation.
You want your audience to use the presentation material in some way (get a good grade, be a better citizen, make more informed choices, etc).
If you scored a 0, well, then maybe I’m wrong and you could use a little “soul searching” about why you’re giving presentations 😬.
But I’m willing to bet you scored at least 1, if not a 4. That means you’ve done all the “soul searching” needed to become an effective presenter. Congrats!
Which brings us to the real reason this piece of advice is such garbage: the problem is that the author usually stops here. Usually, the advice is “do some soul searching” to think about what you really want...but then that’s it.
I’ve been training academics and researchers how to create engaging presentations for years, and in my experience, people need help with turning their values into actionable presentation design steps.
For example, just about everyone I train wants their audience to understand their material. Soul searching will be fruitless because they already know that’s their goal. What they need help with is how to create presentations that help their audience understand the dry, data-heavy material.
Soul searching will do nothing to help them achieve their goal.
Because, ultimately, effective presentation design is a skill--not a mindset. While a healthy mindset is necessary, it’s not sufficient.
Another purpose of “soul searching” is to try to overcome imposter syndrome. And here is where I think this piece of advice crosses the line from unhelpful to harmful.
Soul searching is an ineffective strategy because imposter syndrome isn’t some character flaw that you have--it’s the result of a toxic culture.
The path to overcoming your imposter syndrome is to start by looking outward, not within. It’s about looking at how the academic culture or the “professional” culture creates an atmosphere of imposter syndrome.
But beyond that, we don’t end the culture that creates imposter syndrome by telling a bunch of individuals to “soul search.” We don’t end it by telling people just to recognize how it’s embedded in the culture either. We end imposter syndrome, for everyone, by changing the culture that creates it.
But that’s a blog post for another day.
Let’s move onto the next tip.
Unhelpful Public Speaking Tip #2: Be Yourself
Please tell me I’m not the only one who groans when this advice is given, in literally any context?
Again, generally speaking, it’s a good thing to be yourself. Sure.
On the surface, there is nothing wrong with this piece of advice.
But once again, it’s probably not going to help you become a better presenter.
Why? Because it’s nonsense and isn’t actionable advice.
Here, let’s do an exercise together.
Let’s say you’re a historian and you want to share some new findings of archival records you found. You sit down in front of PowerPoint, ready to tell your colleagues about your work at your next conference.
“Be yourself” you say to your cat, with a warm smile and a sip of your tea.
Now what?
Yeah, exactly.
Worthless advice.
And if you’re scared of public speaking, then what if “being yourself” is someone who doesn’t speak in public in the first place. How does this work together?
Second, I think people can be excellent presenters while being NOT themselves.
Third, I think people can be terrible presenters while being themselves.
Being yourself won’t make you a better presenter, and it won’t be the death knell for your presentation either.
I think, the positive impact that happens when you’re able to say “f*ck it, I’m gonna be myself-- consequences be damned!” is that you might enjoy creating your presentation more.
And, even if (especially if!) it was scary, you can be proud of yourself for how you delivered the presentation in a way that was true to you.
Again--not a bad thing at all. It just probably won’t help you improve your public speaking skills nor will it help you overcome your fears.
Unhelpful Public Speaking Tip #3: Meditate
Okay, we have yet another piece of “public speaking” advice that sounds good on the surface... but that’s only because it is a helpful thing to do in general (for most people).
In grad school, I first learned about something called Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) while working as a research assistant on a systematic literature review of trauma-informed interventions for survivors of intimate partner violence.
I was intrigued and ended up taking the MBSR course myself. By then, my fear of public speaking was already fading, but I hoped it would help me better cope with grad school and my intensifying imposter syndrome.
MBSR did help me in a few ways. I learned valuable skills about how to pay more attention to the present moment and to stop living life on autopilot. I still use some of the skills I learned from that workshop, although I never maintained a consistent meditation practice.
But it did not help with my imposter syndrome (see above for why). And, I don’t think it would have helped much if I was still terrified of public speaking by that point.
Side note, I think a lot of people say meditate when they mean mindfulness...or mindful meditation. I don’t know, I’m not an expert on this, and I might use the terms incorrectly. Please forgive me if I do!
Anyway, if I remember correctly, one of the things you learn in MBSR is to acknowledge the thought you have in a non-judgmental way and let it sort of...float away.
The goal is not to have no thoughts; it’s to have thoughts but then not let them take hold of you. It’s about gaining the skill to see your thought, give it a nod of acknowledgment, but then let it go.
Again, you might be wondering how I could possibly be against this, because it sounds perfect for someone who has bad thoughts about public speaking!
Except, it’s not perfect.
Let’s do another exercise together.
Let’s say we have a professor who doesn’t know how to create an effective lecture. They default to adding a lot of text to their slides because it’s easy, and don’t know how to quickly find visuals to replace that text.
Please tell me how meditating will help this professor use less text and replace that text with visuals?
And then, if students (rightfully so) disengage and start watching TikTok instead the #DeathByPowerpoint lecture, what will meditation do for that?
Nothing.
Meditation (or mindfulness, etc) will not help you create better presentations, let alone become a better public speaker.
Your stress levels, anxieties, and fears will only increase over time because you never addressed the root cause of your problem: that you didn’t know how to create better presentations.
Want to learn how to create better presentations? Get started for FREE!
Unhelpful Public Speaking Tip #4: Embrace Your Nerves
This is basically the “lean in” version of public speaking tips, which is precisely why I hate it and it makes me want to scream.
This sounds like the type of advice that came from someone who always loved public speaking, thinks they’re a natural, and thinks that the teeny-tiny flutter of butterflies they experience are “nerves.”
But those of us who are terrified of public speaking know different. What we experience goes way beyond a little bit of “butterflies.”
What we experience is...
Throwing up before a talk.
The inability to focus on any presentation that comes before ours, because we’re obsessing over our upcoming presentation.
Shaking the entire time we give a presentation, with our voice cracking along the way.
Sweating. A lot of sweating.
Forgetting what we wanted to say.
Afterward, feeling like we ran a marathon. Exhaustion.
And we, of course, convince ourselves that it was total sh*t, which makes us dread the next one even more.
No, do not embrace your nerves. Do not give your nerves power.
The way to overcome your public speaking anxiety is to first reduce your nerves to a tolerable level and then begrudgingly live with them, acknowledge their existence, while keeping a healthy distance and maintaining boundaries.
Think of your public speaking nerves like your toxic coworker in a job you can’t leave.
Do not embrace them. Set boundaries.
But don’t stop there! Ultimately, the goal is to make them leave. To make that coworker find a new job. And then you hire someone to take their place and find out they’re a lovely person. A creative, fun, happy coworker.
That’s the goal.
And over time, you’ll start to love creating and giving presentations. You’ll enjoy them.
I know this sounds like fantasy, but it can definitely happen. But only if you banish your toxic nerves and create an environment where they want to leave. If you embrace them, they’ll never leave.
Unhelpful Public Speaking Tip #5: Be Polite & Professional
Whenever I see this in an article about public speaking tips, I have to wonder if it’s a joke.
First, there is the obvious issue of how it doesn’t mean you’ll be a good public speaker. I’ve seen some of the most boring and confusing presentations delivered in a polite and professional way.
Being polite and professional is not going to make your audience magically able to enjoy your overwhelming graphs on your #DeathByPowerpoint slides.
But the reason this piece of advice made it to the list is because I’m always like...do you even know who is reading your blog post?
The type of public speakers who need to be told to “be polite to your audience” probably aren’t the type of people who read think pieces about how to be a better public speaker.
This is kind of like saying “make sure you set your alarm so you can wake up on time and actually show up to your presentation”
Like, yeah. I mean, thanks I guess, but I kinda knew that?
Being polite and professional is a basic aspect of having a job in a professional field.
The type of people searching for tips on how to improve their public speaking skills or how to overcome their fear of public speaking are probably the type of people who are already polite and professional.
So, when I see things like “be polite and professional” in these articles, it feels like it was added as filler content to do well with SEO and show up on Google.
Unhelpful Public Speaking Tip #6: Speak From the Heart
Barf. What? No.
Don’t speak from the heart. This is terrible advice that will make your audience uncomfortable or confused.
Your conference presentation, class lecture, or keynote is not a love letter to your significant other.
Again--let’s think about how this would be implemented.
Let’s say we have a biologist presenting their findings about bacteria on a webinar.
How should they speak from the heart? How would they go about doing that?
It’s one of those things that sounds good as you’re scrolling through a list while waiting for the bus or for your next class to start, but that’s about it.
Unhelpful Public Speaking Tip #7: Don’t Use Filler Words
Hah, hah, haaaaaah.
I hate this one so muuuuuuuuch.
Question for you: who uses filler words the most?
Most people, apparently, say women.
And that’s the quiet part, isn’t it?
Whenever this piece of advice is added to a list of public speaking tips, in that context it feels like this advice is meant for women (and, sometimes, early career professionals). That’s because, when looking at the broader context of gender and language, it doesn’t really matter how women speak, there will always be people saying it’s the wrong way to speak.
But, the thing is, men and women use filler words at about the same rates, or men use them more than women.
According to a study that analyzed audio files from 11,972 speakers, men used filler words 38% more often than women. This, apparently, surprises people because people tend to assume that women use filler words more than men. As one person said:
“I’m surprised to see that men use filled pauses more than women; I would have expected the opposite,” one commenter wrote.
...Why though? A 2014 study had already found that men and women seemed to use filler words at comparable rates. And so did a study from 2002.
The reason is because women are damned if we do, damned if we don’t. Not only are women disproportionately criticized for using filler words, but society also seems to assume (incorrectly) that women use them more.
That’s really unfair, don’t you think?
But here’s the best part: it’s actually bad advice for effective communication. Both filler and discursive words improve communication. These words actually serve a useful purpose when communicating with others.
So, the advice to “stop using filler words, ladies” makes me so angry because, as Dr. Jena Barchas-Lichtenstein said:
Women and young people don’t “sound stupid” because they say like too much. We associate like with “sounding stupid” because we think women and young people sound stupid in general. So let’s address the real problem—our systematic devaluation of women and young people—rather than blaming it on their behavior. (source)
And this isn’t just something that happens to people from marginalized genders, this is a problem for anyone from marginalized and excluded groups--such as people of color, for example. Policing language is a key strategy to maintain the status quo.
I would much rather we collectively stopped policing language than continue to tell individuals from marginalized and excluded groups to police their own language.
What sucks, though, is that it is true that some people will perceive you as less intelligent during a formal presentation if you don’t speak perfectly, especially if you’re from a marginalized group and already dealing with other stereotypes.
And, sometimes, if there is an excessive amount of “ums” and “uhs” it can get distracting for the audience. Emphasize on excessive amounts.
So, I guess even I need to begrudgingly admit there might be a tiny kernel of truth to this one. Because, if I ignored the social context of how others perceive language, then I’d be a bad presentation trainer.
So here’s how I handle this.
What I recommend for the people I’m working with is to improve their practicing and scripting skills overall.
Focus on those two skills, broadly speaking, and you will automatically reduce the number of excessive “ums” and “uhs” you say without having to panic over your filler words.
This is a good skill to develop in all contexts for all presentations, so it’s not about preventing filler words. It’s about creating a more coherent, concise, and captivating presentation. The bonus--the cherry on top--when you do this, is that excessive filler words tend to disappear, too.
And if it’s something like a job talk or teaching demo/chalk talk -- where the whole point of it is for you to be judged harshly and compared against other people applying for the same job -- Then, well, in that case, I understand why you’d want to take a few extra steps to avoid filler words.
But I have a whole training video about job talks/teaching demos and I don’t waste time talking about filler words. In fact, nowhere in my blog/videos will you find me saying to work on your filler words.
It’s only in this context -- responding to garbage public speaking advice -- that I’m talking about it. Even still, my recommendation is less about removing filler words and policing language, and more about becoming comfortable with your presentation so that you can deliver it with a natural flow.
And you know what?
I have seen terrible, #DeathByPowerpoint presentations where the presenter didn’t utter a single filler word. I have seen amazing, visually engaging presentations where the presenter said some filler words.
My opinion is that filler words don’t make or break a presentation; the overall quality of the presentation does.
Unhelpful Public Speaking Tip #8: Make Eye Contact
Let me tell you a story.
I was on a road trip with my parents. We stopped at some random Victorian house that was doing tours. My mom loves that shit. I’ve gone on like 15 of these tours because of her.
Most of the time, the tour guide just tells us about what life was like back then, what the different items were used for, and that type of thing.
This time was different.
During this tour, a group of us (my family and other families) were waiting in the foyer, when a young woman dressed in a Victorian dress came down the stairs, and started speaking to us in a really odd Victorian (?) accent about how glad she is that we “called” on her.
In other words, she was pretending as if we had stepped back into time, 100 years ago.
This poor woman clearly hated every second, too. Her face was beet red and she looked so embarrassed about this whole charade.
It felt as if she was apologizing to us while she saw the slow shock-horror creep across our faces as we realized what was happening, and as we settled into the social code that the polite thing to do would be to play along with her.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more awkward, she locked eyes with my father and delivered her remaining script to him with such an intensity that he became increasingly--and obviously--uncomfortable.
That, in turn, made me extremely uncomfortable, and I did something I still regret even to this day:
I burst out laughing.
Like, tears flowing down my cheeks. Face all hot. The whole nine yards.
I couldn’t help it! 😭 It’s my involuntary reaction when I’m extremely uncomfortable. I still feel bad, all these years later.
Anyway.
Don’t stare at your audience.
It’s weird for everyone.
But especially don’t actively try to “make eye contact” a lot with your audience if you’re nervous about public speaking, because you might unintentionally overdo it a bit and make your audience uncomfortable.
Unhelpful Public Speaking Tip #9: The Power Pose
(long sigh).
The power pose (aka postural feedback).
The TED talk about it has been viewed a million times, probably. But the research is weak and/or mixed, especially the part about it influencing your hormones.
I’ll be honest, I find the whole debate about the power pose to be rather pointless.
Like, if you enjoy standing in a certain pose before your presentation and it makes you feel confident and happy, then go for it.
That is not my problem with the power pose.
In fact, I don’t actually have a problem with the power pose itself. My problem with focusing so much on the power pose is that it is more about helping you feel better when nothing has actually changed or improved.
The whole point of power posing is so that you feel more confident and feel more powerful.
Which, okay great, that’s fine. But if you’re going to feel confident, then my opinion is that you should also be confident that your presentation is well-designed and effective.
And, by effective, I mean it’s a presentation your audience will actually want to watch, will enjoy, and will learn from.
I know what you’re thinking.
You’re thinking, “These aren’t mutually exclusive, Echo. Why not both!”
In that case, I’m with you.
But whenever I see recommendations for doing the power pose, it’s framed as a “tip” or “trick” or “hack” for overcoming your fear of public speaking. There is no mention, ever, about how improving your presentation skills, so you can create effective presentations, is a key part of this strategy.
The problem I have is that instead of telling people…
... “Hey! Want to create great presentations that make an impact and increase your confidence? Do the work of making your presentations something your audience actually wants to watch.”
Whenever I see the “power pose” as a tip, the context of that advice is more along the lines of…
…“Hey! Want to create great presentations that make an impact and increase your confidence? Here’s a hack! Just stand confidently in the mirror for 2 minutes and you’re good to go!”
So, that’s my problem.
While it doesn’t hurt to have some type of ritual or mantra or pep talk to get you in the right headspace before a presentation, if it’s not accompanied by a quality presentation that it’s not going to help, either.
Unhelpful Public Speaking Tip #10: Drink Warm Water
Oh, look. More good life advice: hydrate.
Is it going to help you overcome your fear of public speaking? No.
Is it going to help you deliver an engaging presentation? I mean...I guess if you’re parched and can’t even speak because your throat is so dry...then maybe?
But if your slides are giant walls of text, without any visuals, and it’s just a data dump...then no. It won’t matter at all.
This is another tip that felt like it was added in for SEO purposes, just to get the word count up. Not helpful, ‘nuff said.
Why these common public speaking tips are garbage
You’ve probably pieced this together by now, but my problem with all of these tips is that they’re a cobbled-together list of surface-level “hacks” that won’t actually help you make better presentations.
Take a moment to review the tips I’ve labeled as garbage:
Do some soul searching
Be yourself
Meditate
Embrace your nerves
Be polite and professional
Speak from the heart
Don’t use filler words
Make eye contact
The power pose
Drink warm water
Do you notice anything?
None of them are specific to creating effective presentations, are they?
This list reads like it was a blog post titled “10 tips to live your best life” -- not “10 tips to help you create presentations your audience loves.”
Those tips could be about anything, which is how you know they’re garbage public speaking tips.
Even if they were somehow specific to public speaking (e.g., soul search so you know what type of information you want to give in a presentation), they’d still be unhelpful.
Because, they might make you feel better in the moment, but they won’t improve your presentations (which means they won’t make you feel better long term).
That’s why most of them come with the disclaimer that they won’t actually help you overcome your fear of public speaking. Because they’re about short-term feelings rather than longer-term improvement.
And that’s an important distinction.
Making better presentations--effective presentations--is how I was able to overcome my fear of public speaking.
Because here’s the truth that I don’t see in a blog post of these “public speaking” tips:
Maybe you lack confidence in your public speaking skills because deep down you know that your presentations aren’t that great.
For example:
You can see your students, colleagues, and peers disengage.
You know that your lectures and conference presentations don’t have a story, and are just a data dump.
You know your slides have too much text and lack good visuals.
And you know that your data visualizations are overwhelming and confusing instead of something that helps your audience gain insight.
Now, here’s the part that sucks. It’s not even your fault.
All those “tips” and “tricks” and “hacks” for public speaking make it seem like it is your fault.
These articles make it seem like there’s something wrong with you and you need to do all this extra mental work just to be able to do something other people were able to naturally do.
That’s the REAL reason I hate all this advice.
The solution is not to stand in the mirror confidently. It’s not to meditate. None of these tips will help, because the problem is you were never trained on how to create effective presentations.
All those people who seem to be so “naturally” good at public speaking?
Those people who seem to create highly creative, visually engaging presentations?
The only difference between them and you is (probably) that they took the time to improve their presentation design skills.
That’s the secret.
You become better at public speaking (and overcome your fear of public speaking) by improving your effective presentation skills.
I promise, everything else will fall into place.
Your nerves will be easier to set boundaries with.
Those imposter syndrome thoughts will start to fade.
And your confidence will increase because you will know that you’ve created a presentation that will help your audience pay attention, understand, remember, and use your information.
Helpful Public Speaking Tips
When looking for advice about how to improve your presentation skills, look for advice that tells you (a) how to stop creating #DeathByPowerpoint presentations, and (b) how to create engaging presentations.
For example, advice should center around things like:
Why even “dry” educational presentations with data need good visuals
What type of visuals to use in your presentations
How to take all your text and turn it into engaging data visualizations
How to practice and script your presentations the right way
But really, the best piece of advice I can leave you with is to stop trying to DIY your presentation skills. Just take some training already!
You can get started for FREE here >>
with joy,
Echo Rivera, PhD
