The “public” bit of public speaking means of course that you are talking in front of other people. And while a speech practised in front of the mirror is great for building confidence, the ultimate measure of its effectiveness is the impact it has on a real audience. So it’s very valuable to get feedback from someone who has listened to your speech.

If you practice in front of friends or family members, ask them to tell you what worked well about your speech. What could be improved? You might also consider making a video yourself speaking and ask others to review it and give you their comments. You could even upload the video to a private link on YouTube and email trusted friends for their feedback.

At Toastmasters, feedback is a fundamental part of the learning process. At our meetings speakers always receive structured feedback from an assigned evaluator who is focused on helping the speaker to improve. Speakers also receive concise written feedback from every member of the audience.

We make sure that feedback always highlights what was done well as well as what could be improved. This means that you can “keep doing” what you’re doing well, and just focus on the areas that need improvement.