Here are the top 10 public
speaking habits presenters
should avoid at all costs,
along with their potential
consequences and remedies:

1. Not tailoring your
message to your audience.
As Benjamin Disraeli once
said, "Talk to a man about
himself and he will listen
for hours." On the other
hand, if you don't talk to
your audience about
themselves, they most likely
won't listen, Price says.
"Speakers frequently fall
into the bad habit of giving
generic off-the-shelf
presentations that are not
tailored to address the needs
of this particular audience.
Listeners know when the
speaker has not done their
homework, and their
response ranges from
disappointment and
frustration to anger and
disengaging."
To avoid this, ask yourself:
"Who is my audience? What
are their burning issues?
How does my message help
them? How much do they
know about my topic? What
will I ask them to do in
response to my message?
"All the best practices in
public speaking depend upon
this first tenet: Know Your
Audience."
2. Eye dart . From beginners
to veterans, the majority of
speakers fail to maintain
meaningful, sustained eye
contact with their listeners.
"Unconsciously, their eyes
scurry from person to
person, darting around the
room, without ever pausing
to actually see the recipients
of their message," Price says.
"A lack of eye contact
implies a list of offenses:
insincerity, disinterest,
detachment, insecurity,
shiftiness, and even
arrogance."
To visually connect,
maintain eye contact for at
least two to three seconds
per person, or long enough
to complete a full phrase or
sentence. Effective eye
communication is the most
important nonverbal skill in
a speaker's toolbox.
3. Distracting mannerisms.
There are at least 20
common tics to tackle,
including: clenching or
wringing your hands, pacing
back and forth, keeping
your hands in pockets,
jingling change or keys,
twisting your ring, gripping
the lectern, licking your
lips, adjusting your hair or
clothing, fidgeting with a
pen, bobbing your head,
placing your arms behind
your back, and touching
your face. "One or more of
these habits can distract the
audience from your message
and jeopardize your
credibility," Price explains.
As a remedy, record yourself
speaking and watch the
playback. "Practice often to
increase your comfort level
and reduce anxiety. Take a
public speaking class or
enlist the help of a local
coach to eliminate
distracting mannerisms and
habituate purposeful
movement."
4. Not rehearsing . Most
proficient presenters
prepare. "That is, they know
the topic, organize their
content, design a slide deck,
and study their notes," she
says. However, according to
a recent survey Price
conducted, less than 2% of
over 5,000 business
presenters in Fortune 100
companies actually conduct
a dress rehearsal and
practice their presentation
aloud. This bad habit results
in the audience seeing and
hearing the unrefined run-
through, versus the finessed
final performance. "
To optimize their perception
of you and get the outcome
you want, perform the
entire presentation aloud at
least once, and the opening
and closing at least three
times," she suggests.
5. Low energy . "As the
Guinness World Record
holder for the most
performances in the same
Broadway show, George Lee
Andrews is famous for
playing the role of Monsieur
André in The Phantom of
the Opera," Price says.
"Surely, he must have felt
tired during at least one or
two of his 9,382
performances, but he didn't
show it considering his
contract was renewed 45
times over 23 years."
Enthusiasm, defined as eager
enjoyment and active
interest, is an audience's
most desired trait in a
presenter. Conversely, a
boring delivery — evidenced
by a low monotone voice,
dull facial expressions, and
overall lethargy — is their
most disliked trait.
"To avoid losing your
audience in a New York
minute, crank up the energy
level. Speak expressively,
smile sincerely, move
naturally, and enjoy the
moment."
6. Data dumping. "It's
understandable. After all,
our credibility is on the line
when we stand up and speak
out," Price says. "So, to be
safe, we focus almost
entirely on what Aristotle
called Logos, which
includes the left-brain
functions of logic, language,
analysis, reasoning, critical
thinking, and numbers."
When we rely too heavily
on this type of content, we
end up talking too long,
reading too many over-
crowded illegible slides, and
turning our backs on the
most important element of
all: the audience. "Ditch the
habit of data dumping," she
suggests. "It loses the
audience and undermines
your innate ability to
inspire, connect, and
persuade."
7. Not inspiring . Even more
vital to persuasion than
Logos, says Aristotle, is
Pathos, which includes the
right-brain activities of
emotions, images, stories,
examples, empathy, humor,
imagination, color, sounds,
touch, and rapport, Price
says. "Tomes of studies show
human beings typically
make decisions based on
emotions first (Pathos); then ,
we look for the facts and
figures to justify it (Logos).
Audience members do the
same. With your words,
actions, and visuals, seek
first to inspire an emotion
in them (joy, surprise, hope,
excitement, love, empathy,
vulnerability, sadness, fear,
envy, guilt). Then, deliver
the analysis to justify the
emotion."
An engaging, memorable,
and persuasive presentation
is balanced with both
information and inspiration.
"It speaks to the head and
the heart, leveraging both
facts and feelings," she says.
8. Lack of pauses. Many
speakers have the bad habit
of rushing through their
content. Like a runaway
train, they speed down the
track out of control unable
to stop and turn at critical
junctures. The causes are
often anxiety, adrenalin, or
time constraints, Price says.
"Regardless of the reason,
the three times you
definitely want to pause
include: before and after
you say something very
important which you want
your audience to remember;
before and after you
transition from one key
talking point to the next;
and between your opening,
main body and closing."
When you consciously use
silence as a rhetorical
device, you'll come across as
more self-confident, your
message will be more
impactful, and your
audience will remember
more of what you say.
9. Not crafting a powerful
opening. "According to
Plato, 'The beginning is the
most important part of the
work.' Yet, it's a common
bad habit for speakers to
waste those precious
opening seconds rambling
pointlessly, telling a joke,
reading an agenda,
apologizing needlessly, all of
which fail to grab the
audience's attention and
motivate them to listen," she
says. You, your message,
and your audience deserve
much more.
So, open with a bang. Invest
the thought, time and effort
to craft and memorize "the
most important part of the
work." For example, tell an
engaging relevant story;
state a startling statistic; or
ask a thought-provoking
question.
10. Ending with Q&A.
There's a good chance
you've heard a speaker end
an otherwise effective
presentation with an abrupt,
'That's it. Any questions?'
"For the audience, it's like a
firework with a wet fuse,
otherwise known as a 'dud,'"
Price says. "Your grand
finale is your last chance to
reinforce your key points,
ensure the memorability of
your message, and motivate
the audience to
action. Avoid the bad habit
of closing on Q&A, which
risks ending your
presentation on a non-
climatic down-in-the-weeds
topic."
It's fine to invite the
audience's comments and
questions; however, be sure
to end strong. "Craft an
effective three-part closing
where you deliver a strong
summary; present a call-to-
action; and conclude with a
powerful closing statement.
Develop the habit of saying
last what you want your
audience to remember
most .

op u should have edited this well before pasting it here. the lines are short before jumping to a new paragraph