Three Myths About Speaking in Public
At one time or another, we may all find ourselves in a situation where public speaking is required of our professional roles. In this article, Vincent Phipps busts the myths so that you can polish your skills. (Republished with permission.)
Three Myths About Speaking in Public
MYTH 1
Speaking in public requires a public.
As a professional speaker who has presented over 3,000 paid presentations, my largest audience is 15,000 people! Today’s professional may never have an audience of that size, yet an audience of 10 people could be as important as an audience of 10,000 people. Public speaking is not about the capacity of your crowds. Know that a one on one negotiation can be a presentation. An interview is a type of presentation. Even leaving a voice mail is a type of public speech. Don’t let the size of your audiences change your message. Let your message, change your audiences.
MYTH 2
To be effective, you have to be excellent.
You don’t have to be an awesome speaker to deliver an awesome presentation. According to a study of over 1,000 mid-level managers, today’s audience’s, 93% value a speaker’s integrity and authenticity of polish and smooth delivery. Focus less on being a flawless speaker and focus more on being genuine. If you lose your place, have issues with grammar, or say the occasional “um” or “uh” it will be forgiven if you know your content and speak with a sense of being solution focused and true to you unique speaking and presentation style.
MYTH 3
Using notecards helps me look more relaxed.
Notecards sound innocent. After all, notecards are just simple pieces of paper that can be innocuously concealed in our hands to be used as continual support if needed, right? Consider this, how would you feel if your dentist, mechanic, roofer, or chef, kept using note cards during key moments? You might question their competence and skill. Times have changed. Audiences would rather you give a B+ presentation on your own than to have an A+ speech read to them from notecards. Remember, it is 2018, we don’t use the “N” word (Notecards)!
About the author: Vincent Ivan Phipps, M.A., CSP, is an attitude amplifying keynote speaker, author and corporate trainer. As owner of Communication VIP Training and Coaching, his company specializes in professional development presentations and products to improve work attitudes, motivation, communication, leadership, and conflict resolution. The National Speakers Association has distinguished Vincent with the industry’s highest earned honor, the CSP, Certified Speaking Professional. Vincent is also ranked in the top 1% of the world’s best professional speakers and trainers.
