Too many people forget to think outside of the box when it comes to improving something. We're a culture of people always on the lookout for an extreme makeover, full-body plastic surgery and demolitions. Too often we fail to acknowledge that most of the time huge, monumental changes are wrought slowly, over time, through many tiny changes that accumulate to gigantic proportions. The same concept applies to public speaking.

If you want to improve public speaking the easy way, it means you're going to need to be willing to commit yourself to making several small changes. Make changes that last - changes that lead you closer to your ultimate goal. So, dive in with us as we teach you simple solutions that will show you how to improve your public speaking performances large or small.

Some Simple Dos and Don'ts

• DO choose a topic that will be interesting for both you and your audience. Neither one of you should be bored out of your minds during a speech or presentation. Captivate both the group and yourself.
• DON'T forget to stay focused on your ultimate goal, whether it's to inform, persuade or instruct. It's no good if you're supposed to be offering an instructional speech on how to change your oil, and instead get into a persuasive argument about the virtues of changing your own oil versus allowing a mechanic to do it. Your audience came to learn how to change their own oil, not to learn why they should want to change their own oil.
• DO your audience a favor by always keeping their wants, needs and interests in mind as you draft your content.
• DON'T loose site of your main objective. Are you there to sell a product or service? Are you there to secure an investor? Are you there to simply educate the audience? To get them to join your mailing list? Whatever your objective is, don't stray too far from it in your message.
• DO try to incorporate detailed, pertinent, appropriate and sufficient supporting materials and resources. Keep them up to date, from credible sources, and ideally, from both primary and secondary sources. Additionally, consider including a resource list of websites, books, magazines, etc. that offer free information about your topic at hand.
• DON'T forget to start out with an outline that will help you remain focused during research and composition. This outline will serve as your road-map through the research composition and will prevent you from wasting valuable time and effort during these phases.
• DO stay on the lookout for emerging or popular communication styles. Listen to other speakers and go "people watching." Also, don't let yourself be above a little polite, unobtrusive public eavesdropping, paying attention to emphasis, gestures and body language.
• DON'T overlook opportunities to use your audience as a part of your speech or presentation. Whether you ask for someone to demonstrate of method, decide to walk amongst the crowd, do as much as you can to really involve your audience in your performance.
• DO smile with your mouth and your eyes. Do the same with any other emotional response, too. This helps your audience feel what you say, instead of simply hearing what you say. And, believe it or not, that can be a big difference.
• DON'T neglect question and answer sessions. Any time your speaking schedule will allow, offer a Q & A session at the end. This will allow you to make sure that your audience's needs and questions have been met.
• DO make sure that you're prepared if you'll be offering a Q & A session. If you'll be offering a Q & A, make sure that you're prepared with standard (and of course some not-so-standard) answers you'll likely have to offer. While it's always great to give an honest, "I don't know." If it's said too many times, you risk loosing credibility with your audience.
• DON'T forget to write things down! Whenever you come across a phrase, expression, fact, or other public speaking tool or technique of "working the crowd", jot it down in a notebook that's wholly dedicated to speech tips and ideas. You never know when this little resource just might save the day.

None of these Dos or Don'ts requires you to set aside astronomical amounts of time, or to undergo any intensive study or behavior modification. Each of them is simple, practical and within the reach of any public speaker, whether a novice, lightly seasoned or a full-time pro.

Always remember that Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will supreme excellence or confidence in your public speaking ability. All of these things take time and effort. But if you stay persistent, and you're truly dedicated to making sure that you're audience is completely satisfied with your performance and information, you're bound to make leaps and bounds in your speaking success.