10 Deadly Public Speaking Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Liam Sandford
Liam Sandford is a Head of Marketing, public speaking expert, and 2x Best Selling Author including the book Effortless Public Speaking. He helps ambitious professionals and entrepreneurs communicate with impact to get noticed, grow their career, and build their business.
Are you sabotaging your presentations before they even start? A lot of presenters fall into traps built from myths, outdated advice, or techniques designed for seasoned stage speakers. The result is more stress, less engagement, and a message that does not land.
Maybe a colleague, friend or relative passed on some well meaning but unhelpful advice. Maybe you tried a technique meant for a veteran and it left you overwhelmed. These mistakes are common, and the good news is every one of them is fixable. Here are the ten that do the most damage, and what to do instead.
Mistake 1: Using the 10/10/10 Presentation Structure
The 10/10/10 structure is everywhere in corporate settings:
10 minutes on the agenda
10 minutes on the main points
10 minutes summarising
It is predictable and, frankly, boring. Opening with an agenda and repeating everything at the end is the quickest way to lose the room. People are at their most attentive when you deliver your main points, so burning that attention on an agenda wastes your best window of engagement. Even in a short presentation it feels repetitive. It looks safe, but safe does not hold attention.
What to Do Instead
Use the open, body, close structure, also known as the Nano Speech:
Open: grab attention straight away with a statement, question or story.
Body: deliver your main points clearly and concisely.
Close: end on a call to action the audience will remember.
It puts attention where it belongs, sharpens your key points, and keeps the whole thing calm and purposeful from start to finish.
Mistake 2: Making PowerPoint the Presentation Instead of You
A classic error is building the slides first. That tends to produce slides crammed with text, which tempts you to read off the screen, and the moment you do, the audience watches the slides instead of you. Your engagement drops and so does your message.
PowerPoint is there to support the presentation, not be it. Lean on it too heavily and you hand your role as the speaker over to a screen.
What to Do Instead
Build minimalist slides that aid understanding:
One key point per slide
Only the visuals or words that genuinely help the audience follow you
For each slide, plan how you will open the point, the message itself, a story or example tied to it, and how you transition out
You are the main event. The slides are the support act, helping the audience understand without overwhelming or distracting them.
Mistake 3: Not Planning Clear Transitions Between Points
Plenty of presentations fail because the speaker rambles, and that usually comes from one of three things:
They are not clear on what they want to say
They do not know how to move between points
They are speaking with no structure or intention
Without clear transitions, the audience gets lost and the message slips away. Transitions are the thread that holds a presentation together and keeps attention moving forward.
What to Do Instead
Plan simple, deliberate links between points:
Use a story, analogy or reference to bridge ideas
Decide in advance exactly how you move from one point to the next
Close on a clear, memorable call to action
Get the transitions right and the presentation feels cohesive and easy to follow, so the audience leaves understanding your message rather than piecing it together themselves.
Mistake 4: Scripting Your Presentation
A fully scripted presentation tends to sound robotic, and if you forget a single word it can derail you and spike your anxiety. A script pins everything to memory and leaves no room to respond to the room. I learned this the hard way once, forgetting one line of a scripted presentation and losing my place completely.
What to Do Instead
Structure it with the Nano Speech rather than scripting it:
Outline your open, key points and close without memorising every word
Work from short prompts or bullets, not a full script
Practise speaking naturally, leaving space to adapt as you go
Structure instead of script and your delivery feels authentic and connected, and a stumble no longer derails you.
Mistake 5: Hiding Behind the Podium
A podium puts a physical and psychological barrier between you and the audience. It can make you look distant, chip away at trust, and weaken engagement. It feels safer, but the safety costs you the connection.
What to Do Instead
Step out and engage the room:
Stand tall with open posture
Hold eye contact throughout your presentation
Move naturally across the stage or room to build connection
Stepping away from the podium builds rapport and lets the audience focus on your message rather than the barrier between you.
Mistake 6: Opening with a Joke
Opening on a joke is a gamble. Comedy is hard, and if it does not land it pulls focus from your message and leaves you rattled. Not every audience shares your humour, and reaching for a laugh adds pressure you do not need.
What to Do Instead
Open with clarity and connection:
Start with a personal story, a question or a surprising fact
Tie it straight to your topic
Use humour sparingly, and only where it grows naturally out of your story
A strong, relevant open builds credibility and sets the tone without the risk of losing the room in the first ten seconds.
Mistake 7: Filling Time Instead of Focusing on Value
Many speakers feel they have to fill every minute, but that usually dilutes the message. Speaking for longer is not the same as having more impact, and rambling or over explaining just wears the audience down.
What to Do Instead
Deliver concise, value led content:
Pin down the core points the audience needs
Cut the spare words, examples and repetitions
Say what matters and stop, rather than padding to fill the slot
Put value ahead of duration and the presentation gets clearer and more memorable, not weaker.
Mistake 8: Watching Yourself Back Without a Plan
Recording yourself can help, but reviewing the footage with no focus often just feeds self-doubt. Watching your mistakes on a loop reinforces the anxiety and tips you into overthinking.
What to Do Instead
Review with intention:
Set a specific thing you want to improve before you watch
Look for what went well, not only what went wrong
Work on a couple of changes at a time, not everything at once
Used deliberately, a recording helps you learn and build confidence instead of quietly eroding it.
Mistake 9: Comparing Yourself to Other Speakers
It is easy to measure yourself against polished professionals, TED speakers or industry names, and easy to come away discouraged. Everyone is on their own path, and imitating someone else strips out your authenticity while piling on pressure.
What to Do Instead
Focus on your own progress:
Track your improvement against your own previous presentations
Build your own style and lean on your natural strengths
Mark the small wins along the way
Measure your growth against yourself, not others, and you keep improving without the weight of unfair comparisons.
Mistake 10: Over or Under Practising
Too little practice leaves you underprepared. Too much can make your delivery stiff and overcooked. Both ends of the scale dent your confidence and flatten your engagement.
What to Do Instead
Find the middle:
Practise enough to feel familiar with your key points
Avoid drilling every word, so the delivery stays natural
Skip the frantic last minute run through that only rattles your confidence
Balanced practice builds confidence and clarity, and leaves you free to adapt in the moment.
Additional Tips to Elevate Your Presentation Skills
Practise regularly: rehearse your open, body and close so the structure becomes second nature.
Engage early: open on a story, question or surprising fact to win attention fast.
Keep it simple: do not overcomplicate slides or transitions, because clarity drives understanding.
Make the call to action memorable: finish on a clear, doable next step.
Actionable Takeaways for Successful Presentations
Drop the 10/10/10 structure. Use open, body, close to grab attention, deliver your point, and end on a call to action.
Stop making it about the slides. You are the main event and the slides are the support act, so design them to be incomplete without your narration.
Plan the transitions between your points. Without them you ramble and undermine your close, so nail the transitions and your message lands.
To avoid these pitfalls and sharpen your delivery, work through the Ultimate Guide to Public Speaking.
Frequently Asked Questions About Public Speaking Mistakes
What is the most common public speaking mistake?
Leaning on the 10/10/10 structure: ten minutes of agenda, ten of content, ten of summary. It feels safe because it is familiar, but it spends the audience's sharpest attention on an agenda and then repeats itself, which is the fastest way to lose people. Open, body, close puts your best material where attention is highest instead.
Should you script a presentation word for word?
No. A full script makes you sound robotic and leaves you reliant on memory, so forgetting a single line can derail the whole thing. Work from a structure, the Nano Speech of open, body, close, with short prompts rather than a script. You stay planned but able to speak naturally and adapt to the room, and one stumble no longer brings the rest down.
Is it a mistake to open with a joke?
Usually, yes. Comedy is its own skill, audiences differ, and a joke that does not land pulls focus from your message and knocks your confidence in the first few seconds. Open instead with a personal story, a question or a surprising fact tied straight to your topic. Save humour for moments where it grows naturally out of what you are already saying.
How much should you practise a presentation?
Enough to know your key points cold, but not so much that it sounds stiff. Over-rehearsing every word makes delivery wooden, and a frantic last-minute run-through tends to rattle confidence rather than build it. Aim for familiarity with the structure and the main points, then leave yourself room to adapt on the day.
How do you stop rambling during a presentation?
Plan your transitions. Rambling usually comes from being unclear on your points or not knowing how to move between them, so decide in advance exactly how each point links to the next, using a story or analogy as the bridge. Clear transitions keep the presentation moving and stop you wandering off and undermining your close.
TL;DR: How to Avoid Public Speaking Mistakes
Most presentation mistakes quietly reduce engagement and raise your stress, and all of them are fixable.
Drop the 10/10/10 structure for the Nano Speech (open, body, close) to grab attention and end on a memorable call to action.
Make yourself the focus, not the slides: one point per slide, minimal text, you carry the message.
Plan smooth transitions to keep the presentation clear and the audience with you.
Avoid scripting every word, hiding behind a podium, opening on a joke, and over or under practising.
Track your own progress, review recordings with a plan, and put value ahead of filling time.
More from Liam Sandford
Read my book:Effortless Public Speaking. Learn how to speak confidently, reduce stress, and turn public speaking into your competitive advantage. These actionable public speaking tips will help you improve your presentation skills for any audience.
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