While brushing up on my speaking skills for an upcoming marketing workshop, I turned to Speak Up!: A Woman’s Guide to Presenting Like a Pro.

The book, written by Cyndi Maxey and Kevin E. O’Connor, has tons of great tips for women in business to expand their influence in any situation.

I pulled out a few of my favorites. Take a look, and see if their advice improves your marketing efforts as well.

1. Watch for signs of weakness. Many women have vocal ‘tics’ that hurt their credibility without them even knowing it. These include ending sentences as questions, and using uncertain or weak-sounding words. Consider the following examples:

“I think it’s kind of important, you know, to try to prepare ourselves for tomorrow’s meeting. And hopefully we can try to avoid some of the things that might cause us to lose business.”

“My goal is to spend the next hour preparing for tomorrow’s meeting. I know that together we can win this client’s business.”

Those may sound extreme, but remember: every time you say “maybe,” “kind of,” or use other weak-sounding words, you’re sapping away your own credibility.

2. Record yourself. You may have to spend $20 on a hand-held recorder, but it will help you discover vocal habits you never realized you have. Capture yourself speaking naturally during different times of the day, and with different people. Then play the tapes back and take notes on how you can improve.

3. Think connection, not perfection. Whether you’re speaking in front of a group or one-on-one, focus your energy on creating connections with others. We’re often so busy evaluating and criticizing what comes out of our mouths that we never even notice our audience. Get out of your head, and pay attention to the people in front of you.

4. Ditch the PowerPoint.  People new to public speaking often focus on being good enough to the exclusion of all else. But you aren’t doing yourself any favors by appearing like everyone else.

Says Maxey: “If your presentations and your presentation style are generic, ordinary and like everyone else’s, then you become a commodity and, in effect, nonessential. Being sidelined in such a manner is not good for women who still have to compete and cope with lingering chauvinism.”

5. Be heard. Literally. Fear often keeps women from speaking at their full volume. Your message deserves to be heard, so give it some volume. Get grounded, take a deep breath, and use the power of your diaphragm to project your message loud and clear.

Find more great tips on presenting like a pro in Speak Up!, or offer your own suggestions in the comments section below.