How to Find Great Public Speaking Venues to Practice Your Presentations

Doug Staneart  |  09/25/22
last updated

Venues to Practice Your Presentations I often get a common question after people attend our 2-day presentation class. “Now that I feel more confident, where do I go to practice to continue to get better as a speaker?” “How can I continue to grow as a great speaker?”

The best way to continue to grow is with continued and consistent use of your presentation skills. If you take a public speaking class and then don’t present again for a year, your new skills wither away.

In fact, one of the reasons why people come to a public speaking class is to get practice very quickly. A class lets them develop these presentation skills in a controlled environment. In a small group setting like this, presenters get instant feedback and direction from a public speaking expert.

With all the positives, though, it would be impractical to go to a presentation class two or three times a year. So, where do you go to get additional practice? In this session, I share a few ways to find speaking venues that are always looking for good speakers. We’ll also cover how to build a solid reputation as a good speaker so your reputation grows. (That way, you have meeting organizers reaching out to you to be a speaker at their meeting as well!)

*** Before a get started, though, here is a quick word of caution. Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent. So, make sure that you develop a good presentation first. Then, also work on your poise and confidence when you present. Do these two things before you start to practice. If you practice a poor presentation, you’ll get really good at delivering a terrible presentation. Also, if you practice bad habits over and over, you will have more difficulty later correcting these habits. ***

How to Find Great Venues to Practice Your Presentations

Looking for someplace to practice your public speaking skills? Here are a few suggestions that can help you improve your skill and become more esteemed by your peers. Once you gain confidence as a speaker, you will begin to notice speaking opportunities that you may have overlooked in the past.

It’s like the Yellow Volkswagen theory. You never see these Yellow Volgswagons on the road until you buy one. But once you do, you see them everywhere. (This works with any car that you buy — not just Volkswagons.)

Speaking opportunities are the same way. Once you organize your first speech, you will find them EVERYWHERE!

Digitally! Yes, Digital Venues/Practice Arenas Can Be Great Places to Practice Delivering Presentations.

Social Media and Online Options Although it seems counterintuitive, online platforms are a great place to continue improving your speaking skills. By counterintuitive, I mean, “Wait… How can I improve my ability to speak in front of a group by speaking to my phone?”

The answer is that social media platforms help you do two things. First, many platforms have time limits, so you have to get really good at getting your point across quickly. This helps you become more concise and precise. Second, by posting your recording online, you get instant feedback. The feedback lets you know whether there is a market for what you are presenting. Is what you are saying something that your audience is into?

There is a third major advantage to practicing on social media, though. If the post isn’t quite great, you can just delete it. Yeah, maybe a dozen people somewhere in the world saw you live. But that is still less risky than getting your first speaking gig in front of 100 people and having a challenge, right?

If you are new to speaking or want to practice more, here is a step-by-step guide to practicing speaking using online venues. Start with the low-risk options. Then, as you become more comfortable, experiment with some of the more challenging ones.

Disappearing Content on Social Media Is the Absolute Best Place to Start Practicing.

Disappearing Content refers to social media posts that disappear after 24 hours. These include Snaps, Facebook Stories, and Instagram Stories.

If you want to have some fun, find a popular social media feed that has thousands (or millions) of followers. Then, scroll back to episode number one. (You can find episode one of the Fearless Presentations podcast here.) You will often find that the very first episode… well… sucks.

When I started the Fearless Presentations podcast, I had already been a professional speaker for two decades. I had spoken in front of millions of people. But, that first episode was pretty rough. Hoipefully, I’ve gotten better over the years. Of course, though, that comes from experience and practice.

So, if you start with disappearing social media feeds, the evidence of how bad you were when you started… well… disappears. (Very low risk.)

Post Behind-the-Scenes Videos to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, and/or LinkedIn.

As you get more comfortable speaking on camera, begin to create behind-the-scenes videos. These are the informal chats that speakers or presenters have with their audiences. The recording could be something as simple a tip of the day. Or, you might do a commentary on something newsworthy.

The cool thing about this type of recording is that you get practice, but you can also edit the videos. When you edit the videos, you can cut out the flubs, so you look and sound great. The first time that you do this, you may need to do a lot of editing. But, over time, you will have fewer edits and more clean recordings.

*** Pro Tip: If the camera makes you nervous, try bringing in a friend or coworker to speak to. Just have your partner hold the camera and speak to her instead of the camera. We used to do this a lot during the webinar days of the internet (Pre Zoom and Teams Platforms.) For instance, as a professional speaker, I get energy from my live audience. So, when I did a webinar, I would be presenting to a computer screen. There was no audience feedback. So, I’d get my assistant or another instructor to sit in my office as I presented.

This tip came in very handy when social media recordings became popular. We used the same strategy, and it worked like a charm.

Post Professional Videos to YouTube, Rumble, or Vimeo.

Once you get your message more clear and professional, you can now start posting to video-sharing platforms. The most popular are YouTube, Vimeo, and now Rumble. Keep in mind that, these platforms are more difficult to create a following on. So, it is a good idea to start with the other social media platforms first.

Also, you will want to make these videos look a little more professional. So, you may find it worthwhile to invest in good video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro.

Just like with the previous speaking venue, when you create these videos you can edit them. Since the video isn’t live, you have the option to cut out anything that doesn’t make you look and sound perfect. I’d suggest that you create simple three to five-minute videos with and introduction and conclusion. This will give you practice delivering a fairly complicated presentation.

Recently, though, YouTube #shorts have become very popular. These are quick 30-second vertical videos. These are also great venues to practice speaking, but they are more like the options in the previous social media list. (They are more like Tik Tok and Instagram videos.)

Facebook Live, Instagram Live, and LinkedIn Live Adds More Pressure and Growth in Confidence.

The highest level of social media or online presentation venues is Live videos. Facebook was the first platform to introduce this venue. But, now, Instagram and LinkedIn have Live videos as well. When you get to the point where you want to challenge yourself, these platforms fit the bill.

Live social media videos are more challenging because you can’t stop and rerecord anything. However, once the live feed is over, if it really stinks, you can always just delete it.

I remember our first Facebook Live! A couple of my instructors and I delivered a quick training session in our boardroom. I had a whiteboard set up. It was fantastic. The other instructors and I were chatting about the topic. We were funny and informative. Of course, we were hoping that viewers would ask questions.

The first question showed up within two minutes. It was, “Who are you exactly?”

Because we were new to the platform, we were nervous about getting started in an interesting way. So, we forgot entirely to tell the audience who we were. (Yup, it was embarrassing.) So, we quickly introduced ourselves.

Then, I jumped back into teaching. I wrote a couple of notes on my whiteboard. A new comment popped up. “FYI, your writing is backward.” Since we were using the phone selfie camera, everything shown was a mirror image. So, I spent the next couple of minutes trying to write backward. (Just kidding. I just erased the writing.)

Needless to say, our first Facebook Live was actually live for only about seven seconds. Then, it was quickly deleted and replaced by a better version 15 minutes later.

So, even though this type of venue is more challenging, you still have total control over what your audience can view later.

Start a Weekly Podcast to Get Weekly Practice Speaking in Front of an Audience.

Publish Podcasts Publishing a podcast offers a unique space to practice speaking. That’s it. You are not required to publish any of your content unless you want to. You can practice as much or as little as you want before recording. And, without having the video, the process is much easier than YouTube or Live recordings.

Podcasts have grown in popularity in recent years. The spoken word is a truly intimate speaking venue. As Grant Baldwin said on the podcast last week, “People will spend 30 minutes listening to a podcast. They won’t spend that much time on a YouTube video or Facebook post.”

Even better is that you can grow your audience even if you’re not a top find on Google. There are a billion websites on the internet. YouTube has over 37 million channels. However, there are fewer than one million podcasts. So, if you get good at podcasting, you can be a big fish in a smaller pond, so to speak.

Personally, I thought I was a pretty good speaker when I started my podcast. In fact, I thought I knew everything there was to know about my topic when I started. Boy, was I wrong. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned about my topic in the last few years. I now recommend starting a podcast to anyone who wants to elevate their speaking ability. The process takes dedication but is well worth it if you want to be a fantastic presenter!

By the way, podcast hosts are always looking for guest speakers. So even if you don’t want to start a podcast, you can also practice public speaking by being a guest on someone else’s show.

In-Person Event Venue Are Plentiful, Too!

Online speaking venues are a great place to hone your public speaking skills. However, there is no substitute for speaking in front of a live audience. Just like in the online world, though, there are low-risk places to start practicing.

Just like with the online venues, start with the low-risk options. Then, when you gain comfort and confidence, challenge yourself with a more difficult venue. Keep in mind that at every step along the way, you will feel nervous. Even the easiest presentation is nerve-racking the first time. But after you do that same type of presentation over and over, it becomes more comfortable.

Then, when you try something more challenging, that will make you nervous again. After a few successes, though, that gets easier as well. My point is that the moment you stop getting nervous when you speak is when you stop challenging yourself.

This process is like driving a car. When you were first learning to drive, parking in an empty parking lot was difficult. After you got good at that, though, you went into a neighborhood. The first time an oncoming car passed you, though, you probably got a knot in your stomach. It probably happened again when you made your first left-hand turn. Then again, when you drove on the highway. The still again when you drove in a downtown area with lots of one-way streets, etc.

The point is that driving in a parking lot is very easy now. So is driving in a neighborhood. These tasks are a piece of cake because you continued to challenge yourself with more difficult tasks. The same will happen as you practice your public speaking. And here are a few in-person speaking venues to choose from.

Join a Toastmasters Club for Public Speaking Practice.

People often think that I am somewhat anti-Toastmasters. But that isn’t actually the case. Toastmasters is a fantastic speaking venue where you can go to practice in front of live human beings. The clubs are supportive. Most everyone who attends a meeting is either a nervous speaker or recovering nervous speaker.

So Toastmaster is about as low risk as it gets as a practice venue.

With that being said, I recommend Toastmasters with caution, though. Each Toastmasters group has its own strengths and weaknesses. So, I suggest that you visit a few chapters before choosing a home. Toastmaster International typically helps new groups start a chapter. However, after a club is established, there isn’t a lot of quality control. Each new member learns from the previous generation of members.

A long-standing club becomes like the old telephone game. You whisper something into another person’s ear. Then that person tells the next person what he/she heard, and so on. By the time the 10th or 20th person tells the group the message, it isn’t even close to the original message. Toastmaster clubs can have the same thing occur. One club may be fantastic and helpful, while another is way off track.

So, if you are looking for a Toastmasters club to practice with, visit four or five different clubs. Look at the people who have been attending the longest. If each of those people is presenting the way that you want to present, you have found a good club. If the longest attending members sound mechanical or syrupy, keep looking.

By the way, in many meetings, the speaker who was on the agenda may not be ready to speak. If you come to every meeting ready to speak, you can jump in. This will speed up your growth exponentially!

Volunteer in Associations, Service Groups, or at Church for Extra Presentation Practice.

School Assemblies and Career Day No matter what industry you work in, there is a trade association that supports that industry. These associations have officers, committees, and special events. Each of these roles offers many public speaking opportunities.

For instance, if you run for an office, you will likely give a speech or two before the election. Then, after you are elected, you will likely give reports at meetings. The same types of things will happen at committee meetings. Special events also allow you to practice. It might be something as simple as a career day at your kid’s school. Or maybe your office organizes a giveback day. If you volunteer to help, you could offer to present the donation to the charity.

Service groups like Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis, Jaycees, and the like offer a ton of speaking opportunities. Just like with associations, these groups also have elected offices and committees. For each of these roles, you will likely be nervous the first time that you do it. Then, week after week, the role speaking becomes more comfortable. Eventually, the role becomes second nature. Those first few times that you speak, your fellow members will relate to you because they will likely have already been through the process themselves. By the time you finish your term, the group will look up to you as the leader.

Another good venue for practicing your public speaking is at church. Your church is always looking for people to lead classes or special events. Before I ever considered speaking as a career, I volunteered to teach a Sunday School lesson at church. The regular teacher was going to be away for a couple of weeks. Rather than pulling a teacher from another group, I volunteered to fill in. I had a blast. I also learned more in the process.

Be a Guest Speaker at Social Clubs, Associations, and Chamber of Commerce.

Every city in the US has dozens of different social clubs like Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, etc. Each of the clubs will often have a weekly speaker. If you do the math, hundreds of different speakers are needed every week. And there are 52 weeks in the year. Your odds are pretty good.

This takes a little bit of legwork at first. Just Google “Rotary Club [Your City and State].” (Or insert the service organization that you prefer. You will most likely find a website with information about meeting times. Then, just show up at one of the meetings. Get to the meeting about 10 minutes early. Ask who in the group organizes the speakers for their meetings.

They will most likely bring the person over to meet you. Tell the organizer what topic you speak on and ask to be a guest speaker. Typically, the speeches are 10 to 12 minutes long. Your topic needs to be informative to the community or the business world. But, most often, as long as you are entertaining, they will invite you to speak.

After you do this once, though, look out. The word will spread quickly if you are a great speaker. You will likely get calls from other groups almost immediately.

Chambers of Commerce and Trade Associations are more difficult to get to speak to. But if you sponsor a meeting, they will often let you say a few words during the meeting. Many of our customers are meeting planners. So, we sometimes sponsor the monthly Meeting Planners International meeting. Every time that we do, we get a chance to give a quick five-minute speech to the group.

Try to Get a Spot Speaking at a Trade Show or Convention.

Trade shows and conventions often have breakout sessions where they need a lot of speakers.

Just like with the service clubs, these convention organizers are always looking for good speakers. So, if you reach out to them during this process, you make their job easier. Keep in mind, though, that these organizers begin filling speaking spots well in advance. They often want to use the list of speakers as a way to get more attendance. So, they may be filling speaking slots for meetings that won’t happen for another year (or two.)

Not sure if this is a good option for you, but it is a funny story. The year I started my company, I was desperate for speaking gigs. I knew that if potential customers could just hear me speak, they would hire me. So, I joined the committee at the Chamber of Commerce that was organizing the Entrepreneur Expo.

This was a huge conference. They were expecting 10,000+ people to attend. After working my butt off as a volunteer for three months, I discovered that the guest speakers were booked two years in advance. If I could get a speaking slot, I’d likely have to volunteer for at least two more years. I didn’t have that long. So, I got creative.

I rented two stalls on the trade show floor — one right next to the other. In one stall, I set up my regular booth. In the other stall, I sat up chairs in a classroom setting. I then went to FedEx (it was Kinko’s back then) and had boards printed with different presentation titles and times. As people visited my booth, I invited them to come back for the presentations.

Basically, I created my own breakout room presentations on the tradeshow floor.

There Are Plenty of Great Venues to Practice Your Presentations. Just Follow the Process Above.

The point is that there are speaking opportunities all around you. Just be on the lookout and volunteer when you get a chance. It will allow you to hone your public speaking skills.

All great public speakers started off just like you. Practice is practice no matter where you do it. Using your new skills, and with enough repeated frequency, turn into habits. Those habits become regular skills in your tool belt.

As your reputation grows, so too do your options. In the next podcast, Doug talks about additional venues where you can actually get paid to practice speaking. Good luck!

author Doug Staneart
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Doug Staneart is the CEO of The Leader's Institute. LLC and founder of the Fearless Presentations class. He is author of Fearless Presentations, Mastering Presentations, and 28 Ways to Influence People.

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