If you're in tech, you may hope to avoid the anxiety that accompanies speaking in public for work. However, tech and business positions alike occasionally require giving presentations. 

In situations like these, you may need public speaking tips to help develop skills you've rarely used. That's where we come in.

Read on to learn how to become a confident public speaker at work and beyond. To supplement these tips, we spoke to Marla Cormier, president of Emerging Leader Training. Like many, Cormier once feared public speaking but overcame her fear through practice.

1. Start practicing when you're not under pressure.

Because jobs that don't require public speaking are few and far between, you need to improve your public speaking skills to make yourself competitive. You can do this by practicing your skills in venues where you are not under pressure, which could include:

• Formal debate clubs such as Toastmasters, a nonprofit dedicated to improving public speaking skills
• Games such as Talking Points and Drink Talk Learn
• Mock "debate nights" with friends

This kind of informal practice allows you to develop these new muscles in a controlled, nonjudgmental environment where you can pick up public speaking tips and get live feedback.

"Like any other skill, public speaking improves with practice which means that to improve your skills, you'll need to get up and speak again and again," Cormier suggested. "Seek out opportunities from leading project meetings to sitting on community boards, but find reasons to speak in public so that you can get comfortable leading conversations and sharing knowledge."

2. Understand the assignment