Why Public Speaking Skills Matter

Public speaking abilities are important in most careers and are key to improving your confidence and presence in the workplace. For some careers, this skill allows employees to complete everyday duties, so it’s important to understand how to improve your skills in public speaking. Understanding how to do this can help candidates advocate for their ideas and improve engagement, contributing to better confidence and overall development. In this article, we discuss public speaking, provide examples, share instructions on improving the skill, explain how to use it in the workplace and highlight ways to present them to employers.

What is a public speaking skill?

A public speaking skill is any quality that helps candidates maintain a positive presence, engage with their audience and communicate clearly to convey their ideas. These skills allow public speakers to transform a standard presentation into an engaging and exciting event for their guests. These skills are essential in the workplace, as candidates may host public speaking events such as presentations, conferences, trade shows or special events. Public speaking can refer to engaging with an audience you already know or speaking to hundreds of unknown individuals.

While public speaking is a skill, it comprises multiple communication skills that allow public speakers to connect with an audience. These skills calm the speaker, reduce boredom in the audience and ensure that they absorb the message of the speech. For roles where employees deliver regular speeches or presentations, such as project management roles, hiring managers may actively seek candidates with the best public speaking abilities to ensure they can perform under pressure. The following are some benefits of having good public speaking skills-

1) Leadership Skills-

Being a great public speaker goes hand in hand with developing leadership skills. Public speakers are often seen as leaders in their field. Their knowledge and expertise allow them to be thought leaders. Being a powerful leader and having a strong public speaking ability can also help you rise in the ranks of your organization or even scale your own business exponentially. Being a powerful leader and speaker will also improve your networking skills. Being able to communicate your message confidently and passionately will make others keener to listen and engage. Being confident in your approach can open doors for you that may have never been possible before.

2) Critical Thinking Skills-

To be a great leader and public speaker, you must also have impressive critical thinking skills. According to the University of Louisiana’s studies of definitions of critical thinking, it was determined that “critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” Being a critical thinker means that the information you intake can be analyzed and utilized in even the most stressful situations, like public speaking engagements. Being able to reframe the delivery of your message based on the audience’s reaction can prove to be incredibly helpful. In order to develop critical thinking skills on your own, you should always be open-minded and willing to listen. Process the information you hear and consider your own opinion of it, rather than falling back on the opinions of others. Stay up to date on current events, and always challenge your own dated and limited beliefs. Keep your mind sharp, while also being open to learning more.

3) Personal Development & Everyday Life Skills-

With heightened communication, leadership, and critical thinking skills, you will be able to level up in your personal and professional life. You will notice how the benefits of public speaking and the skills you develop prove to be instrumental in your everyday life. These skills will help you achieve an increased sense of confidence. They will help you connect with the people around you more effectively. They may even motivate you to reach for goals you previously thought were out of your reach.

How to improve public speaking skills

1) Use body language

Body language can be a powerful tool in public speaking. As an example of non-verbal communication, body language can help you support your message with poise, confidence and stature. For example, if you’re trying to sell a product to customers during an event, it’s important to reflect confidence in your body language. Standing taller, relaxing your face, dropping your shoulders and maintaining eye contact helps you present yourself as confident and can increase your audience’s engagement.

2) Try to connect with the audience

Connecting with the audience is key to public speaking success. Making them feel involved in the presentation process can make them more attentive and persuade them to engage with your message.

3) Use presentations wisely

The way you present your ideas has a significant impact on your overall success. If you’re simply repeating words written on a screen, this can impact audience engagement levels. Consider using visual aids or personalizing your presentation with a story or joke. These small details can involve your audience on a personal level and make your presentation more enjoyable.

4) Focus on delivery

When delivering your presentation, take constructive steps to improve your delivery to ensure the audience can understand your message.

5) Read More And Improve Your Vocabulary

As I’ve mentioned before, learning never stops. Boost your confidence and effectiveness by always learning new information by reading and improving your vocabulary. Language is a powerful tool, and the better you are at wielding it, the more effective your speeches can be. If you want to engage your audience’s interests, you need to develop exceptional communication skills. A big part of improving your speaking skills is by learning how to improve your vocabulary and public speaking abilities.

6) Network with Other Speakers

Public speaking can feel like a lonely endeavor sometimes. You are on the stage by yourself, with a spotlight overhead. It can be very isolating. But one must remember that there are many opportunities in public speaking to connect with other speakers. There will be times in your speaking engagements that you are not the only public speaker there. This is the perfect opportunity to network. Networking allows you to connect and make connections with like-minded individuals. This is especially useful if they work in your field and can become an ally in your career. Those connections can turn into friends, colleagues, and even mentors. They may help you find other speaking engagements, introduce you to new people, and teach you something new throughout your public speaking journey.