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Winning Personal and Professional Success with Public Speaking Delivering an excellent speech or presentation takes much more than creating a speech and practicing it over and over until it becomes second nature to you, and you’re sick of it. The true construction of a speech begins so much earlier and consists of items that reflect the depths of your thoughts and your existence. Anyone can give a speech or deliver a presentation. It might not be very good, but most people can get through it. Think about the presentations you have sat through; maybe slept through. Even if the information was something that initially had your interest, the person delivering it was, shall we say, less than exhilarating. The problem with most speakers is, very few have risen to a level above the basics, that is beginning public speaking. Even taking a college class rarely helps, because most college classes are limited in time and professional expertise to the basics to help students become better student speakers. Let’s be realistic. How many companies hire someone because they are or have the potential to be a really good student. Companies want and need professionals. I’ve been in the classroom and I’ve seen the kind of students that pass the classes. They aren’t terrible, but there is so much they are never shown. Most students just want to get out of the class with a passing grade, and never have to give another speech in their lives; wishful thinking. Of course, not many people are looking to become professional speakers, but there are some advanced techniques that could put some power in their presentations. There are some techniques that could make an audience member who isn’t really interested in the topic to begin with, perk up and discover something they had never though about. Maybe they aren’t interested in Play-Dough, but, with some thought, preparation, and passion about the possibilities that most people never think of, the speaker can wake the audience up and have them thinking about your words and, perhaps, wondering how they can get some and conduct their own experiments…after their children are asleep. For those of you who don’t know, Play-Doe is like clay and it smells good enough to eat, but don’t eat it. For the professional who just wants to give a descent presentation to enhance their career, make friends, persuade, make a sale, improve their family communication and not spend years learning a new skill, the answer is to stop learning and relearning the basics of public speaking and move to a more productive advanced skill level. The problem with public speaking education is public speaking encompasses so much more than most instructors teach, or even realize. The fact is, when done correctly, public speaking covers all aspects of the communication discipline and is a part of any field pursued in and out of school. Although speaking is responsible for only 7% of human communication, it uses almost, if not all of the parts plus portions of other important disciplines like: • psychology, • art, • history, • sociology, • science, • language, • and just about any other subject you can name. Public speaking covers • subject identification, • research methods, • self-understanding, • decision-making, • coding, • transmission, • listening, receiving, • decoding, • analysis, • knowledge construction, • planning, and • delivering. We can’t for get evaluation that comes at a variety of the steps. There are a multitude of elements that go into the identification, preparation, and delivery of a presentation that lifts audiences out of their unconsciousness. Most speakers are limited to elementary speaking techniques. To be a well-rounded professional with an eye on personal growth and building self-confidence as well -as personal and professional credibility, public speaking is an invaluable tool to have in your toolbox. ? Author of forthcoming book “Small Business Superstar Speaking Secrets”, professional speaker, and communication coach who works with individuals and organizations wanting to improve their speech preparation and presentation skills; and communicate more effectively to grow their business, make more money, and build personal and professional credibility. Prof. M is an Affiliate Professor lecturing on Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, and Organizational Communication and Development. Visit my website at www.centerforinformationdesign.com Contact me at: marvell@centerforinformationdesign.com or give a call to 303.947.0962, ask for Allen
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