Better Jobs with Public Speaking
You don’t have to be able to speak well in public to be good at what you do, but whatever you do, public speaking skills can help you excel at it. And if you excel at what you do, chances are you will land a better job. It really is that simple.
The funny thing is that it really doesn’t matter what sort of job you are after. If you learn to speak well, you’ll find you are able to communicate better and you will instill confidence in yourself and in other people. People who undertake this type of training aren’t necessarily looking for formal public speaking jobs. In fact if you join Toastmasters anywhere in the world, you will find that remarkably few Toastmasters do public speaking for a living. But they reap the benefits nevertheless.
Toastmasters and other similar organizations aren’t just about making speeches. Instead these organizations help you to improve your self-confidence and use public speaking to go further in life. This doesn’t mean you necessarily have to talk to large audiences either.
Many (if not most) real-life public speaking exercises involve small numbers of people, like groups of colleagues or potential clients. What this means is that you have to be able to share information with the people you work with — not just talk to them. You have to instill confidence and make them realize that they need to pay attention to what you are saying. If you don’t have the confidence to say what you need to say, you simply won’t succeed. They won’t pay attention, and they won’t act accordingly.
There is no doubt that public speaking training is a good idea for anyone who finds responding in a group situation difficult. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be able to take the floor. You just have to be able to respond appropriately. Put yourself in a group situation and you will know immediately how you feel. If your stomach knots, your hands shake, your throat goes dry or you simply feel that you need to keep quiet, you need help coping with speaking in public.
Public speaking training is also a good idea for people who don’t communicate well, or who find it difficult to network with other people. These people may be able to talk, but they often get it wrong, antagonizing people, rather than gaining their confidence.
One of the earliest protagonists of learning the art of public speaking was Dale Carnegie, author of numerous books published in the mid-20th century, including How to Win Friends and Influence People. The Dale Carnegie schools that were set up to follow his teachings, continue to instill personal confidence, improve communication and networking skills, and show students how to develop poise and polish their skills. These schools are legendary.
The fact is that if you can speak well, you will make a good impression and communicate better. You’ll become a more believable personality and people will be quick to trust you. A person who has a solid command of their language, and is able to make people listen and be interested, has a definite lead. Have you?
