Recipe: Learning to Speak in Public

Speaking in public creates positive visibility, boosts your credibility, and establishes you as an expert in your field. It puts you in direct contact with potential clients in such a powerful way that you may find yourself closing a sale as soon as your talk is over. With all the benefits public speaking offers, it’s unfortunate that surveys show most people are more afraid of speaking in public than of dying!

If this is true for you, don’t include public speaking on your list of strategies just yet. You want to make a good impression on your prospective clients, and you’re not going to do that if you’re quaking in your boots. Work on getting some practice first. The best way to reduce the fear of public speaking is to get experience speaking in public.

Try taking a class at a nearby community college or from a local teacher. Join a local Toastmasters International group, where people meet regularly to practice their speaking and get feedback on their delivery. Or look for a Speaking Circle in your area. These are groups led by trained facilitators that assist you in developing a natural and authentic speaking style.

You can also work gradually on becoming a better public speaker by gaining more experience. Start by participating in a networking or lead exchange group that requires members to introduce themselves at every meeting. Your next step might be volunteering to host part of a program or make announcements for a group you are part of. After that, you might be ready to serve on a panel, where it is common to speak while staying seated and referring to notes.

Over time, you will get more comfortable at being in front of a group and be able to carry off a solo talk without experiencing panic. You may even grow to like public speaking, and graduate to conducting a breakout session at a conference or even a full-length workshop.