[Teutonics]

I have to do sales and training seminars for work, usually groups of 20 to 100 or so, but sometimes much higher. In the beginning I was very nervous, but the more you do it the better it becomes. The keys I have found for me are:

- Know your subject material. You are in front of the crowd for a reason (because you are the expert), and they are there because they WANT to hear what you are saying (at least usually ;-))

- Remember that each person is an individual... you are speaking to multiple individuals, not a group. Make eye contact individually, and talk to THAT PERSON. Move around the room and try to talk to each person directly at least once (if small enough group)

- Involve the group, make it 2-way communication as much as possible. Beneficial information is shared during question and answer, and can often be more important (and more "real world") than the presentation itself.

- Keep slides brief, and don't read the slides... use them only as an outline for the presentation.

HTH!