improving your presentation skills
Good public speaking and presentation skills matter
Although it’s one of the most difficult challenges a lot of professionals face, effective public speaking and presentation skills, whether in person or on video, are often overlooked when it comes to training. Which is odd when you think how important it is in the modern business environment, particularly with the rise of remote working and video meetings. The reluctance, nervousness and, sadly sometimes, outright fear, that people feel about speaking in public or on video can be a real problem when it comes to the working day. Most people who train with us recognise this and are looking to improve their presentation skills for business or career reasons.
What you may not realise though is that there are many other benefits to increasing your presentation skill set. So, here are five of the additional benefits you’ll take away from enhancing your virtual and public speaking skills.
Increased understanding of how to communicate effectively
When you train to be a better public speaker, or present yourself better on video, you are really working on clarity of communication. One of the focus areas for all good presenters is around being concise and clear with information. As with all skills, it soon becomes second nature to use them without thinking. So not only does public speaking training help you present better, but it also improves your overall communication skills.
A boost to your negotiation skills
Have you ever walked away from a conversation that had an element of negotiation and wished you’d taken more control over how it went? We all need to negotiate regularly. Sometimes we are negotiating areas that will affect our future, such as pay rises or promotions, other times it could be a small thing such as convincing your kids to do the washing up or arranging a night out. As your skills with public speaking increase, you will become more capable of expressing what you want in ways that encourage people pay attention. Getting the attention of someone and making them understand your message is one of the most important elements of negotiation.
Standing out with a better presence
You just know when you are seeing a great video presenter or public speaker because they have a sort of ‘presence’ that makes you want to listen to what they have to say. We often describe people with this skill as being charismatic. Yet, if you asked people to say what creates that charisma, they will often struggle to pin it down. The things you say, how you say them, your body language and all the other components of good public speaking are the building blocks of your presence. So, the better you are at speaking, the more you will be able to command the attention of listeners in other areas of life.
Personal Brand enhancement
We’re much more visible these days and, whether we like it and embrace it enthusiastically, or reluctantly accept it, we have a personal brand. When you’re speaking your brand is on display, so naturally you want to be authentic. Presentation and public speaker training will teach you how to be the ‘real you’ in a measured, thought out, way. Being authentic and accessible is even more difficult when you are on video so being able to present yourself well through the camera makes a big difference.
Confidence, confidence, and more confidence
The last, and maybe most important, of our five additional benefits to becoming a more effective public speaker, is confidence in yourself. We often undermine ourselves with self-doubt and the fear of failing when we need to do a presentation. For many people it can be a real issue. The confidence to speak in public partly comes from the certainty that you are trained and skilled. As you grow as a speaker, your confidence will also grow. So, when that big presentation opportunity comes along, you can take it knowing you are trained to present yourself and your message in the right way. Your confidence will grow with every video and presentation you do.
If I’m being honest, of all the additional benefits of speaker training, that last one is the one I like to see most. The rush our speakers get from knowing that people heard what they had to say is something very special. The confidence that brings stays with them. I love that. There is so much satisfaction to be had from hearing that someone I worked with now feels much more confident.
Being able to present yourself and your message effectively is a career and business boosting skill. What people sometimes don’t realise though, is that as well as helping you in your professional world, it has additional benefits for your day-to-day life.
