Public speaking a competitive marketing skill

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Every small business owner can benefit from becoming a better speaker. It doesn’t really matter if your ambitions are to sell across the desk or present across the globe, getting your message heard and acted upon is essential small business stuff.

In fact, I think that forcing yourself to get in front of an audience and deliver a talk of some sort is one of the best ways to develop competitive marketing skills. When you have to get your thoughts down into a concise 30 minute talk and then go out and get instance, sometimes too truthful, feedback it develops character and poise along with an improved message.

The first time you get up in front of a crowd and realize that nobody will die if you aren’t very polished is the point at which you might just get hooked on doing it again and again.

In a recent episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, my guest is Tom Antion. Tom knows a thing or two about speaking and about teaching people how to be more effective speakers. If you want to make speaking a primary revenue source, Tom’s your man for that as well.

Listen as he describes some of the keys to being a better presenter.

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Posted by: John Jantsch on May 12, 08 | 12:12 pm
Category: Branding, Presentations | Tags:

Comments

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Barbara Ling

I can vouch for how getting up and doing it can make a difference in your public speaking; I used to be utterly petrified about doing that until I had to stand in front of dozens of audiences to deliver seminars on Internet recruiting back in 1999 on up. That cured me once and for all.

But I still can't talk well on the phone. Go figure.

Data points,

Barbara

Gary S. Hart

Good words of advice John.

Although public speaking came naturally to me, there were many areas to refine. In a addition to a public speaking class in college, I took the Dale Carnegie Human Relations course 20-years ago. The course required weekly speaking to the class and included a focus on getting out of your comfort zone!

James Feudo

Good info, John.

When you own a small business and your present to a group, the audience assumes that you must be an expert - otherwise, why would you be speaking?

That alone has great benefits when marketing yourself.

James
blog.jvf.com

Homejobsite

I think that speaking and writing,, most of the time culminate a hand in hand nature. Usually if you can speak well, one can also write well, and is a better business persuader / marketer, or sales-person. But that does not not mean that a bad speaker can-not sell in writing, I know because I am one.

MarketingTwins-Randy

I enjoy public speaking and made some of my biggest blunders trying to do it in another language when I lived in Africa - now that I speak on marketing topics, I try and avoid the same blunders!

I'm not sure when it'll become a revenue source for me - but it sure could for my wife. I wonder if a natural bent for public speaking is genetic - she comes from a lineage of public speakers. But I do know it can be learned from alot of experience as well!

Mike Reining - MindValley Labs

I think it's great that people are becoming more aware of the importance of public speaking. We try to encourage this by holding training and idea-sharing meetings twice every week and we get different people on our team to present on their learning and any ideas for innovation to different projects. We've found that this helps people to think their ideas through because teaching helps consolidation. Encouraging public speaking also falls in very well with the new direction our company is taking that everyone should think like a marketer first.

jbrown

This goes along great with your "comfort level" post the other day. On a daily basis I like to be the behind the scenes guy, designing the system and letting everyone else interact with customers/suppliers etc...but I know that it's important to break through that comfort bubble. Recently I made myself go speak at the University of Houston (my alma mater) and it was both terrifying and rewarding all at once. For me, the hardest part was getting past the idea that most people wouldn't retain anything I said. 95% of my preparation and hard work just went right on through them, but the handful of people that hung around afterwards to learn more made it all the more worthwhile.

Don

Speaking is big specially for handling clients and can be big if you have public speaking skills.

JudyAnn Lorenz

When I am knowledgeable and comfortable in my topic so that I can speak about it, I am also prepared to visit or talk about it one on one more effectively.

DH came to public speaking late in life with a job that required presentation. Our family is so proud of the job he does even though occasionally nervous.

Thomas Nicholson

I agree public speaking is an important skill. Even lecturing in the classes I teach. It gives me a chance, with each new group of students, to experiment and improve my skills. Toastmasters is another option. I have always wanted to checkout my local club but never make the time to go.

Vandy Massey

Following on the point about moving out of your comfort space - having always been one of the millions for whom public speaking was a fate worse than death, I set myself the goal of becoming comfortable with it at the beginning of 2007.

My lessons were:
- get some professional training if you can. I have had two fantastic trainers for this - and the investment was worth every penny

- preparation is sooooo important. The time I put into preparing is always hard work, but pays off big time.

- the only way you get any better is to grab every opportunity to do it.

Yesterday I did a talk at the Institute of Directors' conference - and despite the nerves - I loved every minute! Prepare like crazy and then just get out there and do it.

PPC

It sounds practically a great tool, but actually doing it, that is another matter all together. I can sit in a boardroom and chat to 20 people, but put me on a stage and I think I will freeze. I am, scared, I always thought it takes a particular type of person, but then maybe my time will come.

Home Business Team

Public speaking is a very important skill. Unfortunately some people are too afraid to try it to ever get good at it.

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