In a classic 1990s monologue, comedian Jerry Seinfeld told his audience that Americans fear public speaking more than death. "Death is number two," Seinfeld said. "Now, this means to the average person, if you have to go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy."

Unfortunately, the average person will be called upon to do a lot of public speaking over the course of an academic or professional career. The following article offers some ways to make it easier.

Overcoming Fears

In high school, I learned that if I wanted to avoid nervousness I should imagine my audience in their underwear. As an adult, I find it to be more distracting than helpful.

A better way to deal with nervousness is to remember that if most people fear public speaking more than death, in most situations the audience is going to be just as nervous for you. Remembering that should go a long way toward calming fears.

In most situations, an audience has no way of knowing what's going on inside your head. If you do not show fear, the audience will not see fear—fake it until you make it.

Appearance matters. If your knees knock, wear baggy pants. If your hands shake, try to avoid holding small sheaves of paper.

Know Your Audience

Ask important questions. Where does the audience come from? Why are they here? What do they want to know?

Knowing something about your audience will alleviate most of your fears.

If you are a student in a classroom, you can assume your audience is as nervous as you as they wait their turn to speak. They will be impressed if you can make it through without collapsing.

If you are a teacher, you no doubt know that if you go overtime, you will alienate your audience almost immediately.

In a corporate environment, colleagues are more likely to be forgiving of mistakes than employers, but in most circumstances an employer will not be familiar enough with the material to notice a mistake if you recover quickly.

The only time audience knowledge is useless is in a huge stadium venue, but those who speak in these environments probably do not suffer from nervousness.

The more you know about who you are talking to, the less nervous you will be.

Prepare, Prepare, and Prepare

When you were younger, your mom and dad read to you so you would fall asleep, but you don't want to put your audience to sleep.

It is a rare prodigy who can enter a room and speak extemporaneously and with clarity and coherence. Experts recommend preparing at least an hour for each minute of speech time, and while that may seem daunting, it is not too far off.

For speeches of five to ten minutes, memorizing may be worthwhile. Go over it in your head more than a few times. Get to the point where you can affect a conversational tone.

Longer speeches will require notes, but while it may be tempting to write an entire speech out word-for-word and just read it, you should try to limit your notes to just main points and important facts.

Maintain Audience Contact

Whether the crowd is ten or ten thousand, each listener wants to feel they have somehow connected.

Survey the audience as you begin your speech and pick three people that seem to be the most interested. Make continuous eye contact with them, and watch them to make sure the speech is working.

If eye contact is intimidating, look at the tops of their heads. They won't know the difference.

Above all, do not make the mistake of staring at the back of the room. Audience members will feel disconnected and wonder what it is you're looking at.

Murphy's Law of Technology

PowerPoint was once an innovative program, and it still has a use, but most audiences will not be impressed.

If you are going to use technology, make sure it actually adds something. Speakers who write out their entire presentations on PowerPoint and read them word for word are abusing the medium. As with notes, write out only main points.

When preparing a presentation, assume your technology will fail you and have a backup plan to go on without it.

Avoid common problems by going to the venue early or by sending a representative. Most audio-visual technicians want to be helpful, but they can do a lot more before a presentation than when it is time for it to begin.

A good guideline is to arrive an hour early, and the earlier you arrive the more problems you can solve.

Voice: Speed and Volume

Research shows that most people speak at a rate of 135 to 150 words per minute and hear and process about 400 words per minute.

While it may be tempting to speak fast and get the presentation over with, most audiences do not listen that actively. When in doubt, slow down.

A good rule of thumb is to speak about half as fast as you are thinking. Jack Nicholson has made an entire career out of speaking slowly, so it can't be all that bad an idea.

Volume will depend on the venue, but a good rule to follow is to speak as if the guy in the back row is trying to hear you. It may sound like you are shouting, but it will not sound that way to your audience.

Microphones are a tool not a crutch. If you are mumbling, the microphone will not transform your oratory into something worthy of Martin Luther King. It will merely amplify your mumbles and frustrate your audience.

When It's Over

Although it may seem like your speech will last forever, it will be over before you know it.

When you are done, do not fish for compliments from the audience. Ironically, the more people who compliment you, who are not your spouse or parent, the worse you probably did.

Novice speakers need encouragement to try again. Professionals do not.

If no one compliments you, consider that the best compliment of all.