We writers are lovers, not fighters and readers, not talkers, so it's understandable that one might be nervous when called upon to read their work aloud to someone other than the dog.

Following up on the tips from David Prete, I found another article on reading out loud.

Based on my experience, too, it always, always helps to practice a few times, even though it might seem silly and you figure that you know the material better than anyone. You'd be surprised how you might find yourself tripping over a word that you love using, or how a certain transition might sound totally stupid when read aloud as opposed to reading on page.

I also like to bring more than one copy of my work to whatever I'm going to, because knowing me, I'll lose one of them. Also I like to pretend that the crumpled up copies I leave behind are not so much litter but a souvenir for whatever lucky fan of mine gets to snatch it up.

Take your time on stage. Don't rush up and assume that the audience wants you the hell out of there and do it as fast as you can. Position the microphone, find a comfortable stance. The audience will be distracted by you if you fidget and look uncomfortable (but that said, they will also be annoyed if you spend several minutes settling into your favorite yoga position before you read.)

I think looking up as you read is totally overrated. It's one thing if you're giving a speech and interacting with an audience, but if doesn't come naturally, don't run the chance of losing your place just to look up robotically every paragraph? That doesn't feel like interaction to the audience anyway, it feels weird.

If possible, don't pick a piece that has tons of dialogue unless you're reading to kids and are an expert in funny voices.

Don't take an hour introducing your piece, telling us how important it is to you and who inspired it and when you wrote it and on and on. Hopefully you have been briefly and properly introduced before you read but otherwise, get to the reading after a one-sentence maximum setup.

Finally, smile, baby, when you're done. Be relieved, and look like you enjoyed reading to the audience, as opposed to the hell on earth we all know it was.