We’ve all heard the old joke about the best way to get to Carnegie Hall: Practice, practice, practice.

The best way to ace your next presentation or speech is the same: through rounds of practice. But how much do you really need and what type of practice should you be using to get comfortable with your material and perform at your best?

While getting to maximum levels of readiness for public speaking of all kinds varies, there are some common techniques that will help you. Here are some practice tips to try before you next take the spotlight:

1.) Don’t forget the “movie”: Many, if not most professionals, spend the bulk of their time before presentations or speeches on their content. Of course you want to get the content right, but if you forget to practice the delivery (the ‘movie’ since people are watching you), content won’t save you. People need to SEE the confidence and authority as you communicate to trust you’ve got it right.

2.) Don’t forget the “movie” (part 2). Practicing your delivery doesn’t mean just reading the content silently to yourself, Stand and actually deliver your presentation or speech orally as you will be doing, mimicking the real setting you’ll be speaking in as closely as possible. You’ll need to hear and feel yourself deliver your talk to be able to catch where you need revision, how you need to emphasize key points, and hear what’s working and what’s not.

3.) An audience helps. After you’re comfortable with your basics, try delivering it to someone. Give them some specifics to look for (i.e. Tell me what stands out to you and if you think my pacing is about right.) If you can get someone to listen to your talk who isn’t from the same field of expertise, so much the better. They can give you a different perspective on how clearly you’re communicating.

4.) Don’t OVER practice. The point here is NOT to get every word memorized and scripted. You want to practice to the point where you’re not only comfortable with the material, but comfortable with being in the moment. You want to be able to adjust the material and your delivery as you go, depending on your audience’s reaction. Connecting with your audience is your primary goal here, and that can’t happen if you’re tied to every word in a script. If you see nods of agreement, expand. If you see signs of disagreement, stop and address it.

5.) You’re the only one needing perfection. Your audience doesn’t care that you skipped a slide or a phrase. They won’t notice it until you point it out, and why would you? If you make a mistake, keep going. You can even refer to a point you missed later on, without calling it out as a mistake. No one will remember that you got every word right, or that you didn’t. They’ll only remember how they felt about it.