1. Everyone gets nervous with public speaking. It's one of the scariest things in the world for most people.for some, they are more scared of public speaking than they are of death!
   
2. You are going to be speaking to a very supportive, interested audience. We are here because we love you.not because we expect you to give a perfect speech. No matter what happens while you're up there, we'll all be proud of you because you tried.

Start off with a good hook. Folks will be listening to a lot of speeches at Y&G, and you want yours to stand out. The best way to do that is to start with something that will catch their attention-your hook. This can be a startling statistic, a personal story, or a hypothetical scenario that will make people mad. Anything that shows why you care about your topic and why other people should too will make your audience WANT to listen.

Now that they want to listen, you'll want to make it as easy as possible for them to follow your speech. The most effective way to do this, right after your hook, map out where your speech will go. For example: "Tonight I'd like to share with you three reasons to increase school funding: to improve our schools' buildings, to provide more funds for the arts, and to raise teachers' salaries."

After you've mapped it out, all you have to do is follow your map! Write out some notes on a 3X5 about each of the parts of your speech - one note card for each part. That way, all you have to do is glance down to remember what it is you'd like to talk about. And, since the audience will know what's coming, they'll be ready when you change topics. This is the place to use your statistics from your research.make sure you cite your sources!

After you've discussed each of the reasons you told your audience about, you can hammer it home at the end. Summarize each of your points quickly, and tie them back with your opening hook. "And little Suzy never would have died if only we would have had more funds for road construction. That's why my bill is important."

At the very end of your presentation, you'll want to spend a few seconds addressing what you want your audience to do. If you're asking the Senate to pass your bill, you need to say that. If you're asking the NIC to rank your bill highly, explain why it is feasible, why it is important, why it is debatable, and how much research you've done. If you're addressing a judge or jury in the Court program, be explicit about how they should treat your client.