If you take the role of a passive onlooker, for example, and never offer an opinion or comment, you may be giving off the impression that you're not sure what's going on -- or that you just don't care.

At the same time, if you speak up every chance you get, dominating everything from the department budget meeting to the planning session for the holiday party, your colleagues may end up thinking that you're overbearing -- or that you just like to hear yourself talk.

Whether you're the shy type who usually opts not to speak up -- or you're just the opposite -- here are five expert tips on making your point effectively in front of a crowd.

1. Practice:

Like anything, practice makes perfect when it comes to speaking up -- especially if you're shy.

Share your point of view and participate in conversations in and out of the workplace. Doing this helps you recognize where the discomfort sets in. In time, it will get easier or more manageable because you'll know what to expect from your nerves. So speak up and speak often.

2. Get to the point:

When you speak at meetings, concentrate on making your point as succinctly as possible. This will help your message come across clearly and will help you avoid the title of "company blowhard."

For those that tend to be on the verbose side, try thinking about your message in Twitter terms, "[Ask yourself]": is your message potent and concise enough to fit into 140 characters or less? If not, you may be rambling on. Trim and enhance."

If you must make a longer point, set yourself up to keep the floor until you. This will let your peers know that you're making a multi-faceted point, and not just going on and on.

If you fear that someone will interrupt you before you finish, preface your ideas with something like, 'I have four observations to make about the situation. First ..., 'and then keep enumerating as you go along so that people understand you're not finished when you take a breath.

3. Breathe:

Public speaking can be nerve-wracking, but you don't have to let it show. Abdominal breathing will make you sound confident by giving strength to your voice.

To use this technique: “Inhale deeply and then project your voice by speaking from the diaphragm,”

This is essential for those who are shy because it gives more power to your words and persona and can eliminate any shakiness in your voice.

4. Pay attention to your body language:

We know it sounds obvious, but if you're hunched over, or speaking softly, it's unlikely people are going to take what you say seriously.

Top tips for in-meeting body language:

• Sit up and forward
• Keep your hands on the table (We trust people when we can see their hands)
• Lean in
• Smile
• Make eye contact with everyone around the table

5. Learn from others:

A great way to figure out how to become an effective speaker is by watching those who do it well.

Pay attention to colleagues who seem to captivate their audience, and what it is that makes them so poignant.

Study their presentation, the tone and volume levels of their voice, as well as the reactions of others in the room to what the individual has to say. I then incorporate their best qualities and make them my own. we've found that this works quite well and has helped with a confidence level at meetings