You’re struggling to communicate with your team. Can public speaking skills help?

Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, is reported by more than 40% of people (according to a now decade-old survey). It is the number one reported fear. Practicing public speaking and learning coping techniques if you have this fear may not instill you with personal confidence (at first), but it may help you appear more confident to your audience. As you continue to be well received, your true confidence will bloom as your behavior meets natural reinforcement contingencies!

We have a proprietary data based framework for maximizing executive presence and persuasive leadership. Not enough space here to lay out the whole thing, but it does give you a sense of the things to aim for in inspiring your team. It is called CLAD (TM): Connect, Leverage story, Advocate for your team, and Deliver with impact. Each of those buckets has associated behaviors that increase your confidence and effectiveness. A quick D example: data show that most people become more monotone and uniform in terms of speed and volume when they present in corporate settings. If you throw off your "presenter persona" and intentionally vary your tone and rate to match your enthusiasm for your content, it will increase your persuasive leverage.

Confidence is built with repetition. While certain aspects of public speaking may come natural, it will still require refining over time. Watching recordings of yourself will go a long way in your development

The courage to start and do is the genesis of harnessing the skills to relax and develop confidence in speaking publicly. As you speak in public, you start to develop a connection with your audience. That connection gives you the relaxation that leads you to access the authentic relationship that develops between the speaker and the audience. Listening to and watching the audience can guide your tone and posture as you speak. It is important to note that connecting and engaging with the audience should be continuous and present at all times during the speaking.

Yes, public speaking skills can definitely help improve communication within your team. Here's how: Clear and Effective Communication: Public speaking skills involve the ability to convey ideas clearly, concisely, and persuasively. By honing your public speaking skills, you'll become better at articulating your thoughts, expressing your ideas, and conveying information to your team in a way that is easy to understand and engaging.

It is not what you say but how you say it (clarity, speech organization, speed, volume, emotions). Toastmasters help take a message and deliver it with clarity. Practice, practice, and practice some more.

The significance of effective communication through public speaking cannot be overstated. "To accomplish sustainable development on a global scale, effective communication is paramount."

The power of precise language and structured thought—parallels to effective public speaking. Focus on crafting clear, concise messages, to enhance team interactions. Focusing on the Goal and the clarity to achieve it, not only improved my speech clarity but also fostered a deeper understanding within the team, aligning our efforts towards common goals.

All of our interactions with others can be viewed through a lens of persuasion. It does not matter if you are not in an explicit leadership role, or if you have a clear public speaking opportunity. The ability to dissect a situation into a problem and solution structure, then figure out how to navigate it, will benefit you in any career. Be sure to understand that there are usually many layered needs or exigencies in each situation.

Commitment and consistency builds trust with the potential audience. Liking develops bonding with the people. This helps to persuade them easily. Reframe the mindset. Change the perspective to persuade the person. Create an emotional story to support your argument. Authenticity builds trust. Know your audience well. Present the information in a right frame. Apply emotional intelligence to influence the people. Use social validation in your support. Utilise the technique of reciprocity to persuade the audience.

Look to the wisdom of Robert B. Cialdini, particularly his insights in Pre-Suasion: Channeling Attention for Change. Cialdini's principles transformed my approach, showing me how to set the stage before the actual message is delivered, ensuring my team was receptive and aligned from the get-go. By crafting the context with care and utilizing the power of pre-suasion, I not only communicated more effectively but also fostered a culture of openness and mutual respect. This shift didn't just improve our conversations; it enhanced our collective decision-making, conflict resolution, and creative solutions with deeper investment from the team proving that the art of influence is as critical as the content of the communication itself.

Create the content with consistency. Give high quality valuable content to the audience. It is time-consuming process but, it works best to build the trust in the market. Use videos, blog posts, case studies, infographics, podcasts or webinars to increase the engagement with the audience. Storytelling is an interesting way to increase the engagement of the audience. Craft a well planned story around the Idea of presentation. Add humor to break the monotony. Create curiosity by raising questions to the random audience. Encourage the audience for the maximum participation. These activities will increase the engagement among the audience. It builds up the trust. Also it enhances the work efficiency and boosts the team productivity.

Being adept at public speaking can greatly enhance your ability to engage and interact with your team. Using techniques like storytelling, humor, and questions can captivate your audience and foster better communication, rapport, trust, and collaboration within your team. This ultimately contributes to creating a positive and productive team culture.

Adaptability is one of the basic leadership qualities. One can bounce back from the adversity easily with the adaptability skill. It helps in taking risks and embarrassing the uncertainty. Improve the skill of adaptability with the consistent and conscious efforts. Train your brain to visualise the opportunities instead of problems. Develop a growth mindset and stay out of the comfort zone. Effective communication skills are the foremost important aspect in public speaking skills. It helps to understand and respond. Show respect to other's perspectives. Be clear, concise and confident. Recieve the feedback with an open mindset.

I worked with a top C-suite exec who lead a large, multi-national work force... town halls, key messages, meetings etc, were by necessity done virtually. This person could not turn on their camera without shaking like a leaf. That lead to disengaged employees, who also wouldn't turn on their cameras, and diminished leadership credibility. Learning how to speak to a camera was a game-changer for their leadership and credibility. Not to mention the external opportunities that created for visibility (videos, social media, traditional media, podcasts, virtual events, etc)

Public Speaking acts as a great tool for spreading motivation. Communication is a key factor to success but what also matters is how and what you communicate. A crucial part of being great leader and communicator is public speaking. If you can inspire your team to great heights through just your words, then that's a very valuable asset.

Can I be honest? This AI built article isn't particularly valuable. Public speaking is a specific application of communication. So, by definition, the skills you develop are of course applicable to other forms of communication. Whether you are improving your storytelling, or delivery skills you are building muscles that you can then flex in many other forms of oral and written communication. So go for it. Join the local Toastmasters and practice these skills!

Being able to intergrate other slills with public speaking skills and how to implement them is key. For example, Using the above skillset, whilst knowing how to empathise with your team. Empathy whilst administering confidence, clarity and engagement (and more).