Speaking in business…
The ability to speak in your area of career / business expertise – to motivate, to inspire, to lead is a key competency. People who can communicate with clarity, articulation and authority usually of the choice of the best jobs. They are always considered for promotion, to lead projects, to lead a team. People skills are obviously important too, i.e. integrity, trust, caring attitudes, but your ability to speak to your team, your work colleagues and your clients / customers will give you opportunities and the potential to benefit financially.
If you feel your competency in business speaking communication skills is not what it should be, you can do a number of things:
- Join a speaking club
- Read self-help books
- Be heard more at meetings, events and seminars
If you feel your competency in business speaking communication skills needs to improve or be enhanced to secure that all important promotion or lead your organizations next big project, you should do these things:
- Offer to speak on behalf of the organization at a conference / seminar
- Take on a cost-saving or value improvement project and implement and share what you did and the benefits
- Become a ‘speaker’ role model for others to copy and learn from
Many people understandably avoid the stresses and anxiety when it comes to speaking in or on behalf of their organization. It maybe something that they avoided all their life and has / is therefore costing them in different ways i.e. cannot progress in their career, they avoid going for jobs (because they involve speaking to groups) and they potentially lose out financially.
To get over this fear of speaking in business, get these three ‘mindsets’ instilled in your being:
- When you speak, always speak from the heart with passion, enthusiasm and purpose
- See your audience as old friends
- Know your speech contents / subject inside out
