Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Congratulations! You have equipped yourself with a variety of skills; marketing, cash management, product design, and maybe even user experience to create a desirable product. Waoh! all but no public speaking skills. All of those earlier mentioned skills may not be enough to sustain successful entrepreneurship. Okay, we are not prophets of doom, just hear us out! We talked to a fair number of business owners, and many confessed having fear of talking to people. But the striking thing is, beyond the fear, they have really not been able to see value in the ability to communicate effectively.
We coached a couple of them recently on how public speaking can help them connect better with team members, investors, customers and all stakeholders. This article hopes to assure you that public speaking is a needed skill for running a successful business. However, we have no aim of suggesting that you have to be on a professional public speaker scale.
Win Funds With Public Speaking Skills
Out of fear of facing people, some CEOs have been caught negotiating to send their assistant to pitch. Well, while delegation is not a bad idea itself, but for a pitch to investors, No! You want to know why? The truth is, investors want to look straight into the eyeballs of the key decision maker and gauge their ability and conviction. Are you still with me? Investors really don’t just invest in ideas, rather in people. When they can’t find the person, be ready to hear your delegates come back to report, rejection. Thought you might be interested, Social Entrepreneurship. Pt. 1//How to get money for the mission.
You are the first ambassador for your brand
You have to stop thinking small! Why don’t you start prepping for that beautiful future that your brand will be a household name. Don’t wait till then before you start equipping yourself with public speaking skills. If you don’t do it now and grow in it, it might be too stressful when you start receiving calls for media interviews. You can’t afford to turn down an opportunity to showcase your expertise in your field. Don’t you dare even think of wasting the chance to be visible. Listen, people will invite you to come speak on subjects around your field as an expert. You know, on a panel of experts. Never forget this, as the entrepreneur, you are the face of the brand, communication officer, you are the brand builder and chief lead generator.
Pick Up, Chief Host Duty Calls
We so much believe in your dreams and entrepreneurial journey. Well, it’s not our fault that we can be an irredeemable optimist. We just can’t contain the happiness whenever we see a young African contributing to the nation through entrepreneurship. No matter how small, as your business grows, you may need to host a couple of events; product launch, campaign, webinar etc. The good news is, you’ll be the chief host cum Chief Public Relations Officer! Without doubt, handling things well here can earn you potential customers and great investors. How can you achieve this? A public speaking class is your best bet.
Oga, It’s Your Turn to Speak
At one point or the other, as the CEO of either a small startup or big one, you’ll be expected to speak. Maybe you’ve been hiding behind computers all this while to give instructions, so, you think, cool, I don’t need public speaking skills. Hey! For how long are you going to keep hiding? Sooner or later, employees will expect to hear and see their Boss exercise top notch communication skills just like other industry leaders. Also important is that you will be representing your brand at industry events. All eyes on you kind of event. And, how you speak at external events create a long lasting impression about you and your brand. Your eloquence and coherence will be critiqued by potential investors/partners, your competitors, industry experts/analysts and even the media. Do well here and win yourself the most efficient form of advert; word of mouth.
It’s safe to think of how much Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and many others have been able to achieve with their public speaking skills.I bear good news, if you have been dreading public speaking all this while, fortunately, you can learn. Find below key tips to be a good public speaker. Should you need personal coaching, reach out to us here.
Tips For Effective Public Speaking
- Listen: If only the whole world would listen, maybe there would be less disagreement/misunderstanding. There is a huge difference between listening and hearing. We quarrel because we don’t listen. Learn how to listen. That is how you can identify your audiences’ wants or messages.
- Be Human: Sometimes we want to start acting, No, Connect to them like friends and see how they open their arms. Be sincere and authentic.
- Use Storytelling: Reflect on every speaker you’ve ever paid attention to, you’d identify they tell stories. It’s not our fault but humans and gods like stories; conflict. Story helps you sustain attention and contextualise your point.
- Make Eye Contact: This tells people of your confidence. Please, don’t mistake this for staring. Lol
- Learn and Keep Learning: When it comes to public speaking, you will continually learn. Plus, learn correct pronunciations of words. No, not just English words, people appreciate the effort you take in learning how to for instance pronounce their names as a speaker. Learn how to modulate.
- Respect Your Audience: Respect comes in different dimensions here. It could be not talking down on them or using harsh words or even coming early or over using your time. Rather leave them wanting more before they start looking at their watches.
- Be Memorable: Many things will make you memorable. It includes but is not limited to your sense of humour, eloquence, tone, body language etc. You want to be memorable, be vulnerable, show that you are human and not superhuman. Shun bragging.
Get our app, stay in touch and let us help you develop your ideas
Still with the intention to provide more tools for you, we created our tailored all-in-one app to offer up-to-date knowledge, provide exposure for social entrepreneurs and offer coaching services. Get the app (Android version) here and for IOS users, a webapp version and IOS version is on it’s way, sign up for our newsletter here to know when its out and get the consistent ressources via email. If you need templates to develop your ideas, you can check our Joadre Tools. If you want to contact us, use our contact form or consult us through the app.
Thank you for reading to the end.
Cheers
Samuel
