Speaking For Business Success

Contributed by Brian Ochsner

The biggest fear of most people is public speaking--even more than the fear of death. Conquering this fear can be very profitable for a business owner. Especially since most people don’t like doing it.

The best skill any business professional can master is selling. In order to sell well, you must communicate your ideas well. In any company or group, the leaders are almost always the best communicators.

Here are a few reasons why good speaking skills are important for entrepreneurs and employees alike.

1. Better speakers generally make more contacts in the corporate and business worlds. It may not be fair, but it’s true. Good speakers are in demand for conferences, seminars, and other meetings. The more exposure a good speaker gets, the more contacts she’ll make, and the easier it’ll be to generate new business. Unless you have a great product or service that virtually sells itself (which is extremely rare), you’ll have to sell you and that product.


2. Good speakers can turn their speaking skills into multiple streams of income outside of their business. Besides their core business, good public speakers can develop and market products that they can sell in cassette, CD, DVD and/or MP3 format. In today’s Information Age, there are many “starving markets” that will gladly pay for relevant, well-spoken information.


3. Good speakers can use their skills to generate more business leads. Chambers of Commerce, industry-specific and other groups are always looking for good speakers who provide useful information. Whether the topic is learning HTML, Microsoft® Access, or Lotus® training, timely, relevant topics communicated well are always in demand. Once you establish a reputation for being a good speaker, you shouldn’t have any problems finding future opportunities to speak.


4. Better communicators have better personal and business relationships. It’s another fact of life that isn’t fair, but it’s the truth. People do business with other people that they know, like and trust. It can be difficult to get to know or like someone that doesn’t communicate well. If you struggle in this area, I’d highly recommend reading the classic book by Dale Carnegie – How To Win Friends And Influence People. Even if you’ve read it before, read it again. You may be surprised at what you learn or re-learn. And most important of all – put into practice and apply what you learn.

Now that you know why public speaking can increase your success, I’ll go over how you can improve your speaking abilities. The best group I know of to help anyone in this area is Toastmasters®.

Go to www.Toastmasters.org, or your local phone directory to find the nearest Toastmasters chapter. Each chapter meets weekly for approximately 90 minutes in the morning before work, mid-day, or evening. It’s a great way to sharpen your public speaking skills in a friendly, supportive environment.

Another place to sharpen your skills is to join a business-networking group. Granted, some are better than others. At every meeting, you’ll have an opportunity to speak in front of the group for 30-60 seconds about your business.

You can also see how other business owners present their business, and how you can make your business pitch better.

One more way to improve your presentation skills is teaching a class in your area of expertise. It could be through a community college or through other educational programs. Whether it’s on QuickBooks® training or a Microsoft Access class, it’ll help in two ways:

1. You’ll be able to give a more professional and polished presentation on your subject matter.


2. You’ll know the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). This will tell you how to improve your presentation, either by making complex topics simpler, or overcoming potential objections before they come up.

Another key part of public speaking success is listening, and being aware of audience feedback. Remember the old saying “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

If an audience believes that a speaker like yourself is just yammering away, and not connecting with them, they will tune you out very quickly. However, if they feel you’re providing good information for them, and you are sincerely trying to help them, they’ll be much more appreciative and receptive.

While this isn’t a complete list for public speaking success, it’s a good foundation built on successful fundamentals. Remember to practice and apply these tips consistently, and you’ll make solid strides towards your public speaking and business success.

Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Lotus is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Toastmasters is a registered trademark of Toastmasters International in the U.S., Canada, and other countries. QuickBooks is a registered trademark of Intuit, Inc. or one of its subsidiaries, in the United States and other countries.

About the Author:
Brian Ochsner is a freelance copywriter living in Denver, Colorado. His blogsite is: http://DenverCopywriter.Blogspot.com, e-mail is DenverCopywriter@hotmail.com.