LOL, John! Best way, to be honest!
But as a rough guide, you don't want to try hand holding at slower speeds than 1/focal length. i.e. 1/300 @ 300mm, 1/70 @ 70mm. Varies from person to person (some can hold a camera very still, some not so still - I'm the latter and increase the speed a little more than that guideline)
Tripod will make a big difference, tho' with the weight of the camera/lens, you may find some vibration transmitted (all down to how good the tripod is!). And of course zooming in close will affect your depth of field more - especially if you've the lens wide open.
Good luck and look forward to seeing some of the resulting pics!
