Practice Exercises

Building Skills Through Practice

Reading about public speaking is necessary but not sufficient. You have to speak. These exercises help you build skills progressively.

Foundation Exercises

Exercise 1: The One-Minute Talk

Practice: Speak for exactly one minute on any topic without preparation.

Topics to try:

  • The best meal you've ever had
  • Your favorite place to visit
  • Something you know how to do
  • A hobby or interest
  • Your morning routine

How to practice:

  1. Set a timer for one minute
  2. Start speaking immediately
  3. Try to fill the entire minute without running out of things to say
  4. Practice landing your ending as the timer goes off

What it builds: Fluency, thinking on your feet, timing awareness.

Exercise 2: Eliminating Filler Words

Practice: Record yourself speaking for 2 minutes. Count "um," "uh," "like," "you know," and other fillers.

How to practice:

  1. Record a 2-minute talk on any topic
  2. Play it back and count fillers
  3. Practice the same talk again, replacing fillers with pauses
  4. Record again and compare

Goal: Reduce fillers by 50% over several practice sessions.

Exercise 3: Eye Contact Drill

Practice: Practice making eye contact while speaking.

How to practice:

  1. Place sticky notes at different points around a room
  2. Speak while making "eye contact" with each note for 3-5 seconds
  3. Move naturally between notes
  4. Practice with actual people when possible

What it builds: Eye contact habits, audience connection.

Structure Exercises

Exercise 4: The Three-Point Talk

Practice: Take any topic and organize it into exactly three points.

Example topics:

  • Why [hobby] is worth trying
  • Three things I've learned from [experience]
  • Three ways to improve [something]

Structure:

  1. Opening: State your main message
  2. Point 1 (with brief elaboration)
  3. Point 2 (with brief elaboration)
  4. Point 3 (with brief elaboration)
  5. Closing: Reinforce main message

Time target: 3-5 minutes

Exercise 5: The Hook Opener

Practice: Create three different openings for the same presentation.

For a topic of your choice, write:

  1. A startling statistic or fact opening
  2. A story-based opening
  3. A question-based opening

Then deliver each one out loud. Notice which feels most natural and engaging.

Delivery Exercises

Exercise 6: Volume and Projection

Practice: Deliver the same paragraph at three different volume levels.

How to practice:

  1. Whisper (barely audible)
  2. Conversational volume
  3. Projecting to a large room

Notice how your body changes at each level. Practice projecting without shouting.

Exercise 7: Pace Variation

Practice: Deliver a paragraph at three different speeds.

How to practice:

  1. Very slow (60 words per minute)
  2. Normal pace (120 words per minute)
  3. Fast (180 words per minute)

Then practice varying pace within a single paragraph: slow for important points, faster for transitions.

Exercise 8: The Power of the Pause

Practice: Deliver a paragraph with intentional pauses.

Mark three places in a paragraph where you'll pause for 2-3 seconds. Practice hitting those pauses consistently.

Notice how pauses affect:

  • Your sense of control
  • The emphasis of your points
  • Your overall pace

Confidence Exercises

Exercise 9: Video Recording

Practice: Record yourself delivering a 3-minute talk. Watch it back.

What to observe:

  • Physical presence (posture, gestures)
  • Facial expressions
  • Eye contact with camera
  • Vocal variety
  • Filler words
  • Pacing

Repeat weekly. Track improvement over time.

Exercise 10: Practice With Nervousness

Practice: Deliberately practice when slightly nervous.

How to create low-stakes nervousness:

  • Practice in front of a friend or family member
  • Record yourself (the camera creates pressure)
  • Set a timer and try to finish exactly on time
  • Practice standing rather than sitting

The goal: Get comfortable performing while anxious.

Impromptu Exercises

Exercise 11: The Random Word

Practice: Someone gives you a random word. Speak about it for 60 seconds.

How to practice:

  • Open a dictionary to a random page
  • Someone else picks a word
  • Use an online random word generator

Framework for response:

  • Define or interpret the word (10 seconds)
  • Give an example or story (30 seconds)
  • Make a broader point (20 seconds)

Exercise 12: The Unexpected Question

Practice: Answer questions you couldn't have prepared for.

Have someone ask you random questions:

  • What's your opinion on [current event]?
  • If you could change one thing about [industry], what would it be?
  • What advice would you give to your younger self?

Practice taking 3-5 seconds to think, then answering clearly.

Advanced Exercises

Exercise 13: The Hostile Audience

Practice: Have someone interrupt and challenge you.

Instructions for your practice partner:

  • Interrupt with objections
  • Ask tough follow-up questions
  • Play devil's advocate

Practice maintaining composure and responding thoughtfully.

Exercise 14: The Adaptation Exercise

Practice: Mid-presentation, change something significant.

Scenarios:

  • Your time is cut from 10 minutes to 5
  • The projector fails (no slides)
  • The audience is different than expected

Practice adapting in real-time.

Exercise 15: The Full Rehearsal

Practice: Give your complete presentation exactly as you will in the real setting.

Requirements:

  • Same clothes you'll wear
  • Standing if you'll stand
  • Full slides if you'll use them
  • Time yourself
  • Ideally with at least one observer

Do this at least twice before any important presentation.

Practice Schedule Template

Weekly Practice (30 minutes total)

Monday (10 minutes): One-minute talks on random topics (5-6 talks)

Wednesday (10 minutes): Record one 3-minute talk, review, identify one improvement

Friday (10 minutes): Structure exercise or delivery exercise

Before an Important Presentation

Two weeks out:

  • Full content draft
  • Practice full run-through

One week out:

  • Daily practice of opening and transitions
  • Q&A preparation with AI

Day before:

  • One or two full rehearsals
  • Practice timing
  • Review technical setup

Day of:

  • One light run-through (opening only)
  • Relaxation techniques
  • Trust your preparation

What's Next

You have exercises to build your skills. Check the resources for additional tools.

Next chapter: Resources and links.

Speaking SituationsResources & Links