How can you avoid a disastrous public speech?

Do not do it. Don't make a speech. People don't want speeches. Do you have ever had someone on his deathbed say, 'If I still have my life could do it again, would I attend more speeches? ' Do not hold a speech, but tell a story. Then Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was published in France, in 2005, in France and Germany, it was a bestseller from day one. Nine million copies sold within 24 hours. Thousands of people stood guard at night in front of bookstores in Frankfurt to Marseille to get hold of just one copy. And that was for the English version only. The German and French translations only entered the market eight months later. Thousands of people camped outside for 600 pages of which the only merit was that it's a good story. So, don't give a mediocre speech but tell a story. A memorable one.