The fear which is most commonly cited as being peoples worst is public speaking. Is it yours? Here is Aristotles guide to good Rhetoric: He was fundamentally concerned with the art of persuasion. When you are speaking, you are trying to persuade. There are three divisions of this persuasion. Political (future looking), Legal (past looking) and ceremonial (present looking). There are three things you must do: Logos. This is the logical, rational part of the audience. To appeal to this, you must give your audience as much understanding on the topic as you have. Get them up to speed with as much evidence as you have, then they can start to think. Ethos concerns YOUR reputation. It is about who is speaking to them. Are you trustworthy? Are your motives clear? Why should you be listened too? You are selling yourself to the audience. So sell yourself well. Pathos is the story. It is the emotional connection you can forge between the audience and what you're trying to tell them. You must emotionally connect them to the message, to yourself to properly convince them. He goes as far to say anger is the easiest to elicit. These are all things I am trying to do while making these courses!