Hello friend, let me tell you something you didn’t know about you – YOU ARE A PUBLIC SPEAKER!
Yes! You are, you probably never knew it.
Okay, picture that guy on stage speaking to thousands of people. Think about your Pastor preaching to tens of thousands, or that lady on the radio or TV, speaking to thousands of listeners while serenading them with good music. How about that guy entertaining guests at that wedding party. And that person hosting that conference, outreach, and workshop or networking meeting.
All those guys I just mentioned (and of course their fellow colleagues) are public speakers, right? Yeah, they are. But guess who is a public speaker that you didn’t know? YOU!
How am I a public speaker? I don’t even get to face any audience at any point in time; neither do I make a living from speaking?
Have you thought about that time you went for a particular class, and the lecturer had to break the ice by asking everyone to talk about him/herself in like a minute? You remember when it got to your turn when you had to speak? You were speaking to a ‘public’. You are a Public Speaker!
Remember that time your Residence Association called a meeting to deliberate on a particular issue in your estate or street, and you were asked to share your suggestion. Remember you had to stand from that seat to address the residents in attendance, sharing with them what you thought would resolve the matter? That was you speaking to a ‘public’. You are a public speaker!
I can go on painting scenarios. I’m sure one will hit home before I get to the fifth. You can as well remind yourself already.
Do you get it? Some of us speak for 60 minutes, others speak for 60 seconds. Irrespective of the category, we all are public speakers.
You could call that moment your 60 seconds of fame or 60 seconds of shame of course depending on how the speech plays out. It goes a very long way in determining how you are perceived, understood or misunderstood.
You have got to admit it! You are a public speaker!
In my next couple of posts and podcasts, I will be teaching you, taking you through the process of making you a lot more conscious of your Public Speaking status, to make you a lot better at it, to ensure that whenever you need to ‘perform’, you are able to communicate your thoughts effectively and efficiently while engaging your audience in the process.
Now that you know who you are, here are a few things to do.
1. Be Conscious of It
Sometimes, you don’t even need to any more than just being conscious to be better at what you ARE. Being conscious of the fact that you are a public speaker helps you take on that opportunity in a very precise, strategic and deliberate way.
The next time you are called to say anything in public, when you stand up to talk, you are talking with the consciousness that you are a public speaker. Would that make you perform a lot better? Your guess is as right as mine.
2. Learn The Art of Public Speaking
This might not be a profession for you, in fact, you might not in your wildest dreams see yourself acting in the capacity of those guys I spoke about in the first paragraph of this article (and you might), but you’ll be wrong to think that learning the art of public speaking is for those guys alone.
You must aspire to be better at public speaking. A great way to doing that is to visit my website often. A better way is to subscribe for newsletters, so I can send you these resources from time to time.
3. Prepare Like A Public Speaker
Don’t wait for it to hit you before you do. You’re going for that meeting, you have a feeling you might be called upon to say something, prepare ahead, so you get to say it more deliberately.
There you have it. I hope you’re excited about this new discovery of you – YOU ARE A PUBLIC SPEAKER!
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