Over the years, two of the questions I get most often are: Can you give me any tips on public speaking? What are some of the things I can do to overcome my fear?

OK, you asked for it, you got it. Here are 4 tips to help you improve your public speaking and improve your courage in front of an audience, whether it is large or small.

1. Be yourself - Your style should reflect your personality and who you are. Do not try to be someone you're not. Never look at someone else's style and copy it. An audience can sniff out anyone who is not genuine. If you're not a funny person, don't make jokes. You don't have to be funny to get your point across. Try to be the same person "on stage" as you are off it.

2. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Much like the three keys to buying real estate (location, location, location), preparation is probably the most important of these 4 tips. Knowing your talk inside and out is probably the best way to reduce nervousness. When you practice, practice into a recording device. Play it back, make your notes, then do it again. I recommend at least 3 recordings and playbacks.

Don't wing it! So many people mistakenly believe that only if you wing it can you sound spontaneous. It's only when we're totally prepared that we don't have to think about what we're going to say next, leaving our minds free to ad-lib, while still being prepared enough to get back to where we were.

3. Speak on what you're passionate about, not what's popular. People might not hear every word you say, but they sure hear the way you say it. When you feel strongly about your topic, that comes through. To test the amount of passion you have for your message, rehearse in a room by yourself. If you can be as passionate and intense about your topic or message in an empty room as you are in front of an audience, you've passed the test.

Remember, if people really believe that you believe, they'll be more likely to believe you.

4. Make it easy to implement. We live in a "short attention span, instant gratification world." If you give people ideas, solutions or techniques that are the least bit difficult to implement, they'll do nothing. You'll get the same result if you give them too much to think about. Your objective, in any presentation should be to give people one or two good ideas today, that they can implement tomorrow which will start working for them by the next day. Make it so easy for people to implement your ideas; they'll have no excuse NOT to do it.