As someone that has and is teaching public speaking my number one tip: sound like you care. I can't tell you how many terrible speeches I've sat through where

As someone that has and is teaching public speaking my number one tip: sound like you care. I can't tell you how many terrible speeches I've sat through where the person was saying "this is really important and means the world to me" but sounded like they didn't care at all. Number two: don't write out ever word of your speech. It is public speaking not public reading. Being able to read a text out loud without sounding like you are reading is a skill and you should learn to speak from notes/outlines first because that is easier to sound like you are talking with us rather than at us.