Public speaking is a great way of building personal development on many levels, since improving communication skills is helpful in almost every area of life. Whether your goal is to engage in political debate, make a career as a motivational speaker or gain confidence in front of an audience, public speaking can help you meet your goal.
We’ve listed the top benefits of public speaking, which will encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and sign up to speak at a few events in the future.
1. Career advancement
Effective public speaking skills can help with career advancement, as they indicate creativity, critical thinking skills, leadership abilities, poise, and professionalism, qualities which are very valuable for the job market.
Speaking at events and conferences is a good way of building credibility. The more well known the event the better, as you can add these speaking achievements to your resume.
Public speaking can also help you stand out at work. You’ll learn to speak up in meetings, to promote your ideas, and to present yourself as a professional. Speaking skills can also help you excel in job interviews.
After speaking at a few events, people will remember you and begin to see you as an authoritative figure on your area of expertise. You’ll find yourself getting new client and business from people who watched you speak. All sorts of new business and speaking opportunities will open up for you.
2. Boost confidence
Public speaking can significantly boost your confidence. Overcoming the fears and insecurities that accompany public speaking is empowering. Furthermore, connecting with audiences can be a strong reminder that you have valuable insights and opinions to share with the world.
Your confidence levels will grow as you go from speaking to small groups of people up to large audiences. This will benefit you not just on stage, but in everyday life as well, whether it be in a meeting or on a date.
A study by North Carolina Cooperative Extension of people aged 9 to 18 who participated in a public speaking program found that public speaking increased confidence. The study found that meeting a goal was an important factor when it came to increasing the students confidence.
While the nervousness that comes with speaking in front of a crowd won’t entirely disappear, it will teach you how to deal with your fears and turn your weakness into strength.
3. Critical thinking
Public speaking is an excellent way to build critical thinking skills. Writing a speech requires a great deal of careful thought, from the audience analysis to the closing sentence. It’s not enough to have a message, you also need to figure out how to tailor the message to fit the needs of your audience.
How can you make your points relevant to your listeners? How can you help the audience understand your views? If you start thinking critically about your speaking style, you may find ways to improve your general communication style at home and at work.
4. Personal development
Communication skills are crucial for personal and professional success and improving this area is one of the greatest benefits of public speaking. Preparing a speech forces speakers to take a step back and think critically about effective ways to communicate. In everyday life, it’s easy to fall back on communication habits we formed many years ago.
5. Improve communication skills
When you write a speech, you have to think carefully about the best framework, persuasive strategy, and diction to communicate your message to the audience. This type of thinking can help you improve your communication skills in other areas of your life.
Personal relationships, social interactions and work situations require you to communicate ideas to other people. Public speaking focuses on communicating ideas. You can learn to calmly take up an opposing view, to present your ideas in an organized and coherent manner, and to defend your views to others.
6. Make new social connections
Public speaking engagements are good places to meet other people who share your interests. You’ll find that people approach you after your presentation to engage in conversation. It makes it much easier to make new social connections. Try to mingle with the audience for as long as you can after your speech, answering questions and seeking fresh perspectives on your topic.
Give audience members the option of getting in touch with you at a later date by listing contact information on handouts or slides. If you have a website, direct audience members to find more information there.
If you are part of a speaking line-up, reach out to your fellow presenters. Congratulate them or, if you miss a talk, ask how it went. There are lots of opportunities for networking in the realm of public speaking, so plan ahead and make connection.