A monopod is a piece of camera equipment that is used to stabilize the camera. In this regard it is similar to a tripod, except that where a tripod has three legs the monopod has only one. This means that the monopod is easier to transport than a tripod but it is a little harder to use effectively. The key is to use other items, such as your body and nearby buildings, as additional support. This increases the monopod's effectiveness.
Bean Bag
Pack a bean bag with you when you go out shooting with your monopod. You can then wedge the bean bag between the camera and a wall, tree or other object to give it a firm base on two sides -- the monopod side and the side with the bean bag. Photographer David Jacobsen used this technique to take photographs in Washington, DC, and strongly recommends it.
Stabilizer Pouch
A stabilizer pouch is a pouch that attaches to your waist; you can then put the other end of the monopod in it and brace it against your hipbone to add stability. This follows the same theme as Step 1-- using other implements to create additional angles of stability on the monopod, thus increasing its effectiveness without decreasing its versatility.
Your Body
There are also a variety of ways you can use your body to stabilize your monopod. While the easiest and most intuitive way to do so is to just put it right in front of you, there are better ways to stabilize the monopod with your body.
A more advanced stabilization technique is to put a foot backward and slightly turned. Then if you put the monopod directly under the arch of that foot you will have a very stable platform to move the monopod to the left and right or up and down.
Finally, if you bend a leg and put the monopod behind your knee, with an end in the ground behind you, you can stabilize your photos and use longer shutter speeds for taking pictures of things directly in front of and below you.
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