We've spent the last few months covering ways to reduce nervousness and the last couple of weeks uncovering a few low-risk venues to practice presenting. For the next few weeks, I'm going to show you how to make your presentations more fun and interesting.

There are two major components of a fantastic speech. First, you have to have good content that the audience wants or needs to hear. Second- and this is the part that many presenters overlook- you have to have entertainment value in your presentation.

You can have great content, but if your content is boring, no one will really hear you. So, for the next few weeks, I'm going to give you some of my top ways to make your presentations more interesting.

This is part two of a two-part series about low-risk venues where you can practice public speaking.

In the introduction last week, I mentioned that the absolute best place to practice public speaking is in a public speaking class with a great coach. A good public speaking class is a controlled environment, so the risk is very low. However, over the years, I've come across a bunch of other low-risk venues to practice public speaking.

Last week, I covered a number of low-risk virtual venues where you can practice speaking in front of a group. Virtual venues can be great for fine-tuning your message and learning to be concise. And, in most cases, you can practice and get your message perfect before unveiling it to the public.

This week, I give you some of the best low-risk venues to practice in front of a live audience. The live audience is crucial for gaining public speaking confidence because most of your confidence will come from seeing that positive visual feedback from the audience. When you communicate well, your audience will give you positive expressions. Those little nods when they agree with you and smiles when you make them laugh are critical to overcoming public speaking fear.

One of the most common questions that I get as a public speaking coach is, "Where can I go to practice speaking?" It is usually a good idea to practice your presentation skills somewhere that is more low risk than in front of a big client, or your boss, or the board of directors.

Obviously, I'm pretty biased, but with good reason. I believe that the absolute best place to practice public speaking is in a public speaking class with a great coach. A good public speaking class is a controlled environment, so the risk is very low.

Also, you get practice presenting in front of real people. That is an important part of the learning process.

However, over the years, I've come across a bunch of low-risk venues to practice public speaking. So, over the next couple of episodes, I'll give you this list.

That way, you'll have a bunch of different options to choose from. Pick the one or two venues that you feel will give you the best practice.