Make a Career Out of Public Speaking
Speeches are the reflection of thoughts and beliefs of the important individuals whose comments matter in their respective fields. These speeches are sometimes written by professional speechwriters.
We also came across great orators in history books who were naturally eloquent and had the rare ability of enthralling an audience for a span of time.
Most importantly they could stir up public emotion to trigger off social and political movements.
Their speeches have special historical significance in the context of changing society. In the present socio-economic scenario today, we increasingly feel the void due to the diminishing number of such people who can move the audience by their speeches.
So, there is a true need for people who can generate appealing speeches either to be delivered by themselves or for the others who has to make professional presentations but lack the natural skills of creating attractive speeches.
As effective presentation has become a rule of the day for selling any product or idea, we need more and more such professionals who can make such public presentations.
If you think you have a flair for public speaking, you can advance your career in this direction.
Even if you have a natural flair for speaking before a number of people and communicating your ideas to other people with ease, you will need some training in certain areas if you choose public speaking as a career.
The training will be aimed at the improvement of oral communication with an emphasis on analytical and research skills and also improvement in delivery skills. The training will also prepare you to become a winning speechwriter.
As a whole a formal training in public speaking teaches how to think in a constructive way. With training on public speaking up your sleeve you can opt for several career opportunities.
As for example, you can come in the Public relations job, become the spokesperson for industrial organizations or ministry.
You can also consider academics, where communication abilities are viewed as important as your academic grades.
Then, in television anchoring or journalism or as a television interviewer, you will need superb oratory skills. Here are few tips to help you emerge as a professional speaker.
Be careful about the content of your speech. Your oratory excellence alone can not make you a professional public speaker.
As a professional speaker you should be able to offer your audience something fresh. So, you must be original in generating your speech.
Take your time, research well, apply your imagination and produce something really substantial.
At the time of delivering speech take notice of what audience want to hear and what they do not. Accordingly expand or trim your material.
As you get more and more matured as a speaker, your experience and enrichment also get reflected on your speech automatically. So, as a public speaker emphasize on quality and not on quantity.
Be Social.
As a professional speaker, being social helps you in knowing your audience and if you feel the pulse of your audience you will be able to connect with the audience better.
So, in the places of assignments, be it a seminar or a gathering of professionals, reach the venue before time and freely mingle with the guests to know what type of audience you are going to expect.
Branch out your client base as far as possible. It will widen your horizon and help you to grow professionally.
If you are stuck up with a particular organization or a particular industry, you run the risk of losing your innovative powers.
But if you tread off from one sector to another it will add to the basket of your experience as a communicator, as you get different kind of audience and get to speak on different dimensions of your subject.
It also has a commercial aspect. If you are always attached to one company or one industry, then you have the risk of losing on your assignments if suddenly they go for any policy reversals.
Always work on knowledge build up. Being a professional speaker means you have to be a reliable information resource.
Always stay informed and aware of the current affairs. Read extensively, it will improve your linguistic skill and you will be more expressive in your explanation.
As with other profession, you cannot hit the jackpot in one day. You have to gradually learn the basic tricks of the business.
As Cicero put it, ‘The skill to do comes with the doing. It is not as true for any other profession as it is true of the profession of public speaking.
