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It depends on what I am speaking about and whether I "planned" on speaking.
I don't know why it should matter with me, but if it is a planned speaking event I am a fair to good speaker, but if I have not planned to speak I am exceptional.
An example of this is back in the mid-1980's my district school staff (teachers, office clerks, facility workers, etc) were striking because of low wages; insufficient benefits to counter the low wages, and having to hold two jobs in order to survive the local economy. Many of my instructors were GREAT teachers even with over crowded classrooms (I think we had like 40 children per class, in moderate to small size rooms), lots of homework (just from the day classes), and teenage behaviors in general. But even the few who were seriously clouded in their judgment as being good teachers during the day hours after working the nights hours and grading homework, were sourly wrong... one such teacher made my life so boring I slept through most of his classes, just to get a repeat performance in my night class with him. But when I heard where the school board meeting was at, and a brief discussion with my parents about it, I rode my 10-speed to the place, walked right past many of my teachers, and stood at the podium and emotionally explained to the board what a farce they were making of "MY" school year. That they weren't hurting the teachers nearly as much as the "children" they instructed based on the boards decision to cut costs in the classrooms, in the teachers pay, and in the education of the Children that are currently suffering in their classes because their teachers and the school staff do not have the proper means in which to serve the families that pay their checks. I further informed them that if they felt the need to make my Junior year anymore miserable they would have to actually attend the classrooms and educate the children for the full 8 -9 hour days on the wages the schools are currently running at. I continued to tell them that if they felt the need to cut costs anywhere they should have started with their own pocket books first, then worked out the pros and cons of what was least necessary for the schools by talking with the "families" which work/attend there.
I told them how I wasn't great at a lot of my class work, but I didn't need teachers in my classroom who were putting me to sleep because they can't energize themselves to make the class interesting, or stay awake long enough to explain where I might be learning incorrectly.
When I was finished speaking, one of my teacher's was standing next to me, along with many other teachers and staff with a standing ovation...while the board sat silently trying to figure out how to quiet the room, and answer by blast at them. When it did quite down, I said "I don't want to hear what you have to say, I want to see improvements by you for these people, in this district, and in my school. Otherwise you're wasting more of my time, my school mates time, the teachers time, the school staffs time, and the parents income (taxes)."
Between my speech and 5 others the board finally broke and met the teachers and staff half way. It was funnier when I started my Senior year in night school at the same campus the board meeting met at, and the principal was the prior years Board President.
Yet when I make personal (small groups of people) and educational (speech class, peer speaking) "planned" speeches I try to follow the rule of picking a person from each section of the crowd, remain calm, drink only water prior, 3 - 5 index cards with titles and important small facts about what I will be talking about, and use the restroom before speaking... this doesn't ever help. I usually drop the cards or forget where I left off, I'm too close to the audience, I'm being videotaped, or I feel green.
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:pumpki nsg 
