Quiz: Are You a Good Public Speaker?

Work through this quiz and note down your responses to the questions. At the end you'll have the chance to convert your answers into points to see how well you scored.

1. What Do You Do With Your Hands While Speaking in Public?

A. Keep them perfectly still

B. Fidget

C. Gesture enthusiastically

D. Gesture naturally

2. How Do You Feel About Smiling?

A. I only smile when I’m happy

B. I only smile when I’m relaxed

C. I can force a smile when I’m nervous and that helps me to relax

D. I am confident and relaxed in front of an audience and smiling comes naturally

3. How Do You Remember What to Say in a Presentation?

A. Prompt cards with the main points for each topic

B. Everything is scripted word for word

C. Presentation slides have all the relevant information on them

D. Just try to memorise it all

4. Can You Control Your Nerves?

A. I go to pieces in front of an audience

B. I am relaxed as long as I have prepared carefully

C. I thrive on the excitement of flying by the seat of my pants

D. I get stage fright, but I’m okay once I get into it

5. What is Your Presentation Style?

A. I read from my script and rarely make eye contact with the audience

B. I talk naturally about my subject and interact with the audience where appropriate

C. I deliver the presentation as I have practiced it, but can’t handle interruptions from the audience

D. The material speaks for itself

6. How Do You Look When You Are Presenting to an Audience?

A. I tend to shake or sweat

B. I look nervous and my voice doesn’t sound natural

C. Even if I’m a bit worried, I don’t tend to let this show

D. I look nervous at first, but become more confident once I’ve got going

7. How Do You Keep Your Audience’s Attention?

A. I interact with the audience and vary the pace of my presentation

B. My material is interesting enough to keep people's attention regardless of how I present it

C. I stop talking once I think people are getting bored

D. I use sound effects and lots of different fonts and colours in my presentation materials

8. How Do You Use Humour in Your Presentations?

A. There is a joke on every slide. I want my audience to enjoy themselves

B. There is no humour at all. I want people to take me seriously

C. I use humour periodically to keep my audience relaxed and involved

D. I always start with a joke to get people’s attention

Answers

Award yourself points as follows.

Q1 A 1, B 0, C 0, D 2

Q2 A 0, B 0, C 1, D 2

Q3 A 2, B 0, C 0, D 0

Q4 A 0, B 2, C 1, D 1

Q5 A 0, B 2, C 1, D 0

Q6 A 0, B 0, C 2, D 1

Q7 A 2, B 0, C 0, D 0

Q8 A 0, B 0, C 2, D 1

Rating

0–7 You are not a natural public speaker, but everyone can learn to be more confident at it with practice.

8–11 You are a capable public speaker, but there is still room to improve your technique.

12–16 Congratulations! You are a great public speaker.