Why you need a public speaking coach...yesterday

by Dr. Meggie Mapes

I’m going to be direct: you need a coach to advance your public speaking and professional communication toolkit. If you’re like many of my clients, “public speaking” is likely on a to-do list—a skill set that you intend to, down the line, work on improving.

After all, good public speaking can advance your influence, increase your credibility, and connect you with like minded entrepreneurs and potential customers. It can also help you develop your brand and workshop or work through your ideas.

Good public speaking can advance your influence, increase your credibility, and connect you with like minded entrepreneurs and potential customers.

There’s just one problem: our fear of being judged or getting it wrong, however, is so debilitating that we often push that goal to the bottom of our docket.

“I’ll get to that next year.”

But the longer you wait, the more you lose a key resource to success: time. Do you really have another year to wait? Can you give up 12 months of potential progress?

The answer is a resounding NO.

So, let’s dive in! But...how do you start? The first step is clear, and experts agree: watch yourself speak. Record. Watch. Repeat. Without assessing your current level, it’s impossible to know how to improve.

Are you cringing yet?

Despite the benefits of watching ourselves present, we are our harshest critics. Folks would rather pull out their teeth than listen to the sound of their own voice. Judgement from others is nothing compared to the judgement of ourselves.

This is the key to coaching: as your coach, my job is to be your eyes and ears. My job is to assess, create an improvement plan that meets your goals and needs, and execute that plan as your partner. Because the truth it this: it’s not just about watching, it’s about knowing what to watch for.

And an expert is key to execution. With 20 years of experience in public speaking, storytelling, performance, and writing, I’ve learned that there are no tricks or shortcuts to improving your ability to masterfully present and hold an audience’s attention. Developing a public speaking persona that is engaging, insightful, and creative can expand your confidence and bring in clients, but a plan for progress is key.

Because coaching will facilitate your public speaking progress, but it will also assist in helping you reframe you—in remapping your self-confidence to view yourself as a leader, a mentor, and as someone with something memorable to say.

Dr. Mapes is passionate about delivering research-based communication consulting services to help her clients communicate with authenticity; move audiences to action, create social impact and develop programs that maximize impact for their vision. She’s consulted and accelerated the success of entrepreneurs, CEOs, small business owners and multinational organizations.

Transform your communication for FREE with Dr. Meggie Mapes’ “Professional Pocket Stories ” – your key to captivating, connecting, and converting through the power of storytelling.