1) Start small. Start in your company. Then go to local user groups (LUG, universities, etc). Then submit applications to small/local tech conferences, then go on to large ones.

2) Read something about the topic, e.g: https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Public-Speaker-Scott-Berk...

(there're tons of other books and resources, I won't provide everything here)

3) Speak about something you know very well.

4) Reharse. One of the biggest problem with presentation newbies is that they're unable to keep the proper timing.

5) Don't waste your audience time. Keep your talk as short as possible; don't try saying everything, try to say the most important and useful things.

6) Focus on your speech, not on the slides. The slides should support you, you should not be reading slides aloud.

Great points! A lot of this advice matches with Scott Berkun's "Confessions of a Public Speaker". Excellent actionable advice on public speaking. http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Public-Speaker-English/dp/...