That's all good advice, but I don't think it gets to the heart of most speakers' problem, which is simply fear. Clutching the podium, speaking too quickly, blan

That's all good advice, but I don't think it gets to the heart of most speakers' problem, which is simply fear. Clutching the podium, speaking too quickly, blanking - these are all side effects of nervousness. I don't think the solution is as simple as 'stop doing that', controlling unconscious behaviour under pressure is difficult. Unfortunately I don't know the secret to great public speaking, but I suspect no. 8, practice and critique, should actually be top of the list. It is the only thing I've found which helps.