Public speaking - Face the fear or escape from it?

As public speaking becomes an increasingly required skill in the workplace, it is troubling that it is also a major fear for many people. Furthermore, since this skill is closely related to leadership skills, it is crucial to face and overcome this fear in order to become an inspiring leader. To begin, let's examine some basic principles of public speaking as outlined in Lisa Schreiber and Morgan Hartranft's study, "Public Speaking Project.”

Benefits of Gaining Public Speaking Skills

Public speaking is a universally applicable skill that is seen by US employers as critical for job seekers' employability (Rockler-Gladen, 2009; US Department of Labor, 2000).

Here are 2 areas that Public speaking skills have an impact:

1. Personal: One great benefit of public speaking is building self-confidence. It's not surprising that speaking in public can be scary, but by practicing it, you will gain experience and build self-confidence. Developing this skill can also help you fulfill essential roles in your family and community.
2. Professional: According to Aras (2012), approximately 70% of jobs today involve some form of public speaking. Top CEOs advise that effective leaders must be able to communicate ideas persuasively, build support, negotiate, and speak effectively in public (Farrell, 2011).

Types of Speeches and Speaking Occasions

1. Informative speech: Occasions for an informative speech include presenting a report to your management, conducting a team meeting, or a training session.
2. Persuasive speech: Persuasion is used in various scenarios, including giving sales pitches to potential customers or managing stakeholders to support your promotion.
3. The last general purpose is to commemorate or entertain. Examples of this purpose include giving a toast, such as a best man's speech at a wedding reception, delivering a commencement speech at a graduation ceremony, or presenting a recognition for your team.

Are you a great public speaker?

Poor public speaking is manifested by insufficient respiratory support, infrequent use of pauses, lack of inflection, poor eye contact, use of inappropriate or meaningless gestures, and organization or structure of presentations (Breakey, 2005; Hancock et al., 2010)

Here are six public speaking stats you should know:

1. Make a great FIRST IMPRESSION

You have 27 seconds to create the first impression.

69% of people tend to form a first impression before starting the speech.

2. Build RAPPORT with the audience

Use the first 10-15% of your presentation time to introduce yourself and the topic of your talk

3. Maintain EYE CONTACT

3 seconds is the ideal time to make eye contact with the audience. This encourages attendee engagement.

4. Improve information retention through STORYTELLING

Conveying your ideas with an engaging story increases their knowledge retention by up to 65-70%.

5. Pay attention to your BODY LANGUAGE

According to Albert Mehrabian’s 7-38-55 rule, 55% of communication is non-verbal and is attributed mainly to body language.

6. Don’t give a speech, HAVE A CONVERSATION

Engagement levels can increase to 92% when the attendees are involved in discussions.

Public speaking is defined as the attempt to inform, entertain or persuade a group of people. But often, our nerves, fears, and anxiety might hold us back from speaking up. At TYDE, we believe that this negative self-talk can decrease with self-compassion, creativity, and a space to practice.

Buckle up and get ready to unleash your public speaking potential, captivate your audience, and make a lasting impact! Join our Public speaking workshop and take your speaking skills to the next level!

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