Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

Are you scared of speaking before a large audience or even making a few suggestions in public? This need not be. You can make effective speeches in public. Here are a few pointers. Perhaps the most important step is to be sure of what you are going to say. This sounds obvious enough, but it is amazing how many people get up to speak when, in fact, they have very little to say. After one inconsequential point, they discover they have run out of steam. So to ensure you can speak well, the more conversant you are with them the more confident you will be.

How do you present your speech? Certainly, before you begin, you will be a little uneasy. Even the most experienced speaker feels the same way before beginning his speech. This is not bad; in fact, it is a good tonic for a successful speech. To overcome this, do not rush headlong into the task. Rather, it pays to breathe in and out, heavily, deeply calmly. Then begin the speech, slowly, calmly. carefully, with a clear, confident voice. This is when you are going through the introduction. "The Chairman, Honourable Guests of Honour, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen..." By the time you finish this and go through the usual ritual of stating that it gives you "great pleasure to stand before this august gathering to discuss a few points....," you would have reached a point of emotional equilibrium. You should now be sufficiently calm to go on with the speech.

Somewhere at the beginning, and at strategic points in your speech. you should introduce flavour into what you are saying. You would not want to serve tea without sugar after all. So, you should inject some humorous remarks once in a while. But this calls for skill. To start with, you cannot introduce humour indiscriminately, otherwise you might sound like a jester. Experienced speakers most often introduce humour early in their speeches, presumably to ease the tension in the hall. But these jokes must be brief. purposeful and closely related to the point.

Many speakers are scared by the countenances of the listeners. Not all their looks are friendly. However, there are bound to be a few friendly ones, and it is advisable to pick them out, look at them from time to time, and ignore the hostile ones. Looking at the friendly faces keeps you at ease.

You are advised to write out your speech in full after which you should read it several times before the day. You couldn't get a willing listener to criticise your delivery. Do this several times until you can almost recite it. Notice that we are not advising you to memorise it, because you could forget vital areas due to anxiety. Writing out and practising the speech would make you much familiar with the content, indeed with every word.

Speech-making is an art. While it is true that some are gifted in speech-making, it is more correct that anyone who doesn't suffer from speech handicaps can learn to deliver effective speeches. And you can become a master in this art.