Do you work on your public speaking skills only when you have to give a presentation the next week? Perhaps it is the time to put speaking on your list of activities you want to get better at. You need to set goals, specific goals. Motivate yourself by writing them down. Make your goals bold, but don’t demotivate yourself with clearly unrealistic visions. Count how many occasions you have had in the past year to speak in public and increase that number a little. Think about every possible chance to speak in public and make a plan for at least the next 3 months. Your actions will then become reality more easily and your speaking skills can finally get to the next level. All you need to do is prepare your plan well, claims the business2community.com website.
In order to set your public speaking goals, try to find answers to following basic questions:
- Who do you want to speak to?
- Where do you want to speak?
- How many times do you want to speak during the year?
Make speaking your priority and learn to communicate your messages clearly. Focus on closing the gap between where you are today and where you want to be. The list of opportunities where you can practice your public speaking is at the same time your navigational tool. Specific goals are a necessary prerequisite for your success in this field.
Next steps
Before everyone of these occasions, you need to create your message and articulate it clearly. Then you will have to identify your audience you want to speak to. Identify its needs and characteristics such as average age, industry in which those people work or their education. You could think about upgrading your marketing, branding yourself as a speaker. You can also look for more opportunities, what conferences could you attend? Perhaps there are some you would be a perfect fit, possibly events arranged by the professional association you are in, or your university’s alumni gathering.
Read specific tips on how to improve your public speaking skills in our Presentation skills section.
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