Soledad O'Brien's 4 Tips On Being A Great Public Speaker

Soledad O'Brien knows how to speak to an audience.

As an award-winning journalist, she's drilled political leaders and covered hard-hitting subjects like racism in her CNN series "Black in America".

On Thursday, O'Brien gave advice to young professionals during an "Office Hours" session with Levo League, a networking and career advice site.

Here's what she said about public speaking:

1. Look fabulous

“Dress in something fabulous that you know you look great in. You’re not going to be good if you don’t feel like a million dollars.”

If you look good, you'll feel good. That confidence will reflect in your speaking and will create a more natural flow to your presentation.

2. Speak from the heart

O'Brien emphasized believing in what you say, otherwise your script will be a "clunker."

"Learn to speak from the heart and write it down, " she said.

3. Practice, practice, practice

O'Brien lives by the old adage "practice makes perfect" and said she reads through her notes at least three times before giving a speech.

"So many people do a bad job public speaking because they haven’t walked through their notes. Once you’ve really read it, then you’ll be able to ad-lib and be comfortable, laugh, and pause for the joke.”

4. Keep it brief

"Brother, be brief." No one wants to listen to a speech that drags, so keep things tight, and bow out.