An effective public speaker should be able to utilize devices that will be able to capture the attention of the audience. One effective means for them to give you that much needed interest is this: get them to go on stage. Make them participate. When someone is on stage and he or she happens to be a member of the audience, the rest will almost always stay attentive. Why? Because they would like to see what you will be doing to one of them. Also, because they are thinking they could be up there themselves and so to save their precious egos from embarrassment they at least need to know what is going on.

No matter how good or excellent you are as a presenter or as a public speaker, nothing beats the excitement of getting someone to be on stage who really should not be there in the first place. What is going through their minds at that moment when you pull an unsuspecting someone from their complacency is that, “Oh my god, what if the speaker selects me to go up there next? What am I going to do?” Then later, “I need to pay attention to this.” A little bit later as you go through your presentation, the audience will then most probably think, “What point is he/she making?” And then as you take your point across, the audience will then get to think, “Now I get it.” Because you made them pay attention, you have forced them to listen and respond to your statement in the privacy of their minds.

However, there are those extremely shy and very sensitive members of the audience who might withdraw from going through the rest of your presentation if they hear you will be calling on them up on the stage. The objective is to gain an audience and not to lose any of them.
Make it clear prior to your asking someone to come up on stage with you that you are asking for a volunteer and that no one will be forced if they do not want to. Notice that if the majority of your audience are shy, once you finally get someone to be on stage, all of them will almost always heave a sigh of relief that you would actually feel a breeze pass you by, really.

Another way to get the audience to participate as well as pay attention is by giving them due recognition. Try to acknowledge a single member of the audience for a specific achievement or a moment of a good performance, or also acknowledge a group of the audience.

Several people despise the idea of having to verbally elaborate anything in front of an audience. Research has shown that the anxiety of public speaking stems from the following reasons:

1. The display of signs of anxiety such as shaking or trembling.

Surely, not a lot of people would like to be seen by a massive audience looking like a wimp, making a fool of one’s self while jittering and trembling.

2. The fear of mental block.

There could be nothing more embarrassing than being waited upon to say things when you realize that your memory has just failed you. It is not uncommon with people who are speaking in front of a large audience for their mind to go blank . This is caused by the mental stress one undergoes while speaking in public.

3. Doing anything embarrassing.

The fear of becoming a laughingstock is what makes public speaking very frightening. With a large audience before you, you never know what’s in their mind while you are giving your best in delivering your speech.

4. Discontinuing the speech.

It’s another phenomenon that is commonplace with public speaking when one stops talking. Making people wait for your next words is stressful enough to hate public speaking.

5. Not making sense or saying silly things.

Like all the other reasons as to why a lot of people cringe at the thought of speaking in public, mumbling unintelligible words is another one of those shameful things that many would not want to experience.

After knowing all of these terrible things that people are trying to avoid when deciding on a public speaking engagement, it’s high time to learn what can one do to prevent these from happening.

Prepare
The key element in order not to be a victim of these incidents is to be well-prepared. Nothing can beat preparation when it comes to public speaking. Even the smartest person can make use of ample time to gather all the resources he or she will use before delivering a speech.

Practice
Practice will also make things more well-facilitated. Getting more comfortable with your subject entails practicing the speech in front of a smaller audience like your family or even just by yourself.

Relax
Also, relaxing oneself before, during and after the speech will make things sail a lot smoother. Doing things that can put you in a relaxed mood such as eating chocolates, getting a breath of fresh air, or even smoking, though not a healthy option, might help you in psyching your body before the talk.