The first mistake you might make in public speaking is not asking yourself why you are speaking.

Wait a minute, you might say; I know why I am speaking, someone asked me to or I volunteered!

That may be true, but before you start thinking of your topic and your ideas, you need to remember that public speaking is more than education; it is communication, entertainment, and motivation.

So if you think of who your audience is and what it wants and tailor your speech in accordance with that, you will be much more effective.

It might also be a good idea to remember who hired you and satisfy them too, just like when you provide any other business service.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself before starting to prepare your speech:

1. What kind of person will be in the audience: their gender, age, typical profession, etc., in order to adjust your style and wording as much as possible to what they like and respect.
2. Why are the listeners there; do they have to attend or do they choose to? Would they be grateful if you are brief and succinct or do they want lots of meat?
3. What do they want; to be entertained or educated, to hear opinions or facts?
4. What do the organizers (or whoever asked you to speak) want; to make as many people happy as possible, to provoke discussion, to explain a particular position clearly, etc.
5. What do you want to gain from the exposure: being seen as an expert, avoiding political damage, experience, reputation as an entertaining public speaker, or convincing others about your cause or opinion?

Only after answering these questions, should you make a plan about what topic, ideas and presentation style would best meet the goals outlined.