Let's do this :)

A Britiish public speaker said once 'I left my comfort zone... and when I tried to get back into it? Horror... it had simply grown around me...' (paraphrasing Miles Hilton-Barber) I try and tinker most of the time. Not 'burn the house down' tinkering... subtle shifts, different metaphors, shifts in energy... Over the last few months I had the opportunity to lecture and in every lecture I tried a different aspect... learned a lot and helped me to expand my range. I'm still very much learning how to communicate effectively so adjusting, adapting? Is very much part of the package for me. Which is also why I test drive almost all presentations with varying degrees of tenacity on unsuspecting colleagues, family members or other (willing) listeners.

@Keiko Lim You said 'speeches' which can imply a few things... 1) on record speeches where verbatim is part of the agreement. Here I'd try teleprompters and memorize key segments over time. There will be less ability to adjust your style... so you're delivering a package. I also agree with @Amir Salemi re mindmaps or other visuliation techniques. Memorizing here is probably time intensive especially if you haven't written the speech yourself. 2) a message/theme you're trying to transport. Here I find audience reaction in real time is as almost as important as your prepared speech. So key anchor ideas and a sturdy overall map how you get from A to Z tends to help me most. A written down speech can read clever, inspiring, fascinating... it shouldn't become a corsett that robs you of the flexibility to take a detour or home in by adding another perspective Are you mostly in camp 1 or 2?

@Monica Daly For me, it helps to ground my presence in the purpose rather than in myself. - What am I actually trying to convey? - What am I offering the audience here? That slight shift tends to take the edge off the nerves because the focus moves away from “how am I coming across?” to “is this useful for them?” Physical activity beforehand can definitely help as well — it settles the body. I’d just see it as support, not the main lever.

@Monica Daly how did it go?

Many inspiring takes here. For me, it’s become less about “getting on stage” and more about leaving a place slightly better than I found it — whether that’s a lecture hall, a conversation here, or a drink with a stranger. Public speaking then feels less like a goal and more like one expression of that. Over time, that’s led me to start writing, teaching more formally, joining a LinkedIn Live, and perhaps circling a TEDx next year. Still figuring out the direction — but the intent feels clearer than before.