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 I recently flew to Europe and got to “enjoy” one of those extremely long flights – 8 hours over and 10 hours back (that headwind is a killer). On the way over, I plugged the headphones in and watched the movie The King’s Speech. The movie walks through the challenges that Britain’s King George VI faced in dealing with a lifelong stuttering problem and working to overcome it.
Public speaking is a large part of what I do. Sometimes I forget that many people struggle with getting up in front of a crowd to speak. Add a speech impediment to that natural fear of public speaking and it makes George VI’s story that much more amazing.
If your job or perhaps your role in some professional organization requires that you present to groups, it’s important to work to hone that skill. For most speakers, speaking with people one-on-one is not a problem, and most are okay with small groups (though even those can cause butterflies in the stomach!). This insight can help if you are planning an event with multiple speakers and a variety of audience sizes. Book your best professional speakers for the larger groups and assign your less experienced speaker or internal resource or to smaller sessions.
Tips for speakers: plan your speech and rehearse it until you have it down pat. Knowing your material helps tremendously. Ask a friend, co-worker or relative to watch and give constructive criticism. That will also help with your timing. Consider joining Toastmasters or a similar speaking group to get more feedback. In short, most of us can become better (and less nervous) speakers with a little practice.
Learn more about our professional speakers or the sessions offered by The Expert Speakers.
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