Taken From a Blog Post by Brian Tracy International The Importance of Public Speaking | Brian Tracy
How does one form connections, encourage change, impact decisions, and inspire people?
Through the power of public speaking and communication.
Public speaking skills are useful in every area of life, from personal to professional. From being able to discuss your ideas with your friends, to addressing important information at a company-wide meeting, effective communication proves to be a crucial skill in our lives.
Public speaking is a vital skill to have and hone. We utilize these skills when we speak to coworkers, bosses, employees, clients, and maybe even big audiences. Having the ability to deliver your message confidently and effectively can have an enormous impact on your career path and your success in your industry.
Communication Skills
Before learning how to improve in the world of public speaking, you must learn to listen. Being an active and attentive listener allows you to develop your communication skills, as well as your critical thinking skills. Your ability to listen will help you adapt to and understand what the audience is looking for, even if they don’t tell you.
Being an open-minded listener will teach you how to communicate effectively. Understanding what is being said, the meaning behind it, and what hopes to be gained from it will strengthen your ability to communicate your own message.
Being an effective communicator helps in everyday life as well. Being able to attentively listen to what someone is saying and processing what they said before formulating a response will allow for less miscommunication and better overall understanding. If you can be a good listener, the people you interact with will feel heard and understood.
Your communication skills are also effective in helping you achieve your goals and get what you want. If you can effectively communicate your needs in a way that the other person – or audience – relates to, it is much more likely that your message will be heard.
Leadership Skills
Being a great public speaker goes hand in hand with developing leadership skills. Public speakers are often seen as leaders in their field. Their knowledge and expertise allow them to be thought leaders.
Being a powerful leader and having a strong public speaking ability can also help you rise in the ranks of your organization or even scale your own business exponentially.
Being a powerful leader and speaker will also improve your networking skills. Being able to communicate your message confidently and passionately will make others keener to listen and engage. Being confident in your approach can open doors for you that may have never been possible before.
Becoming a great leader and establishing better skills takes time. Learn and watch other great leaders; consider their routines and the steps they took to get where they are. You can even learn how to be a great leader by listening to those who have been led by great leaders. What did they appreciate about that leader? What did that leader do to inspire them?
Learning how to improve your public speaking skills will also help in developing leadership skills. You will learn how to inspire people and help them expand their scope.
Critical Thinking Skills
To be a great leader and public speaker, you must also have impressive critical thinking skills. According to the University of Louisiana’s studies of definitions of critical thinking, it was determined that “critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.”
Being a critical thinker means that the information your intake can be analyzed and utilized in even the most stressful situations, like public speaking engagements. Being able to reframe the delivery of your message based on the audience’s reaction can prove to be incredibly helpful.
In order to develop critical thinking skills on your own, you should always be open-minded and willing to listen. Process the information you hear and consider your own opinion of it, rather than falling back on the opinions of others. Stay up to date on current events, and always challenge your own dated and limited beliefs. Keep your mind sharp, while also being open to learning more.
Personal Development & Everyday Life Skills
With heightened communication, leadership, and critical thinking skills, you will be able to level up in your personal and professional life. You will notice how the benefits of public speaking and the skills you develop prove to be instrumental in your everyday life.
These skills will help you achieve an increased sense of confidence. They will help you connect with the people around you more effectively. They may even motivate you to reach goals you previously thought were out of your reach.
Part 1 of our 2 Part Blog Series on “The Importance of Public Speaking & How to Do it Well,“ as Brian Tracy discusses The Skills needed to effectively inspire people. Part 2 will explain, How to Improve Your Public Speaking. The Importance of Public Speaking | Brian Tracy
About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin and Youtube.
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