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Public and Motivational Speaking
  If
you enjoy standing in front of a group
of people and getting your ideas across,
you might have the raw material to be a public
speaker.
Public speaking (sometimes called
presenting
or motivational speaking) requires
you to
have more than just calm nerves
and a lot
of knowledge; you also need:
- A talk, topic, or a story that others want
to hear. The best speakers are experts in
a field, experienced an ordeal, or have an
interesting or funny life story that bears
being retold.
- A marketable style and the ability to promote
yourself or have others do it for you. Just
because you are a good speaker doesn't mean
others knows about you or would hire you.
- Social skills and seat-of-the-pants quick
thinking for dealing with realtime problems
or audience reactions
- Promotional and saleable "tools"
(books, videos, etc.) that allow people to
"buy" more from you after you are
done speaking.
Getting Started
The definitive group for new and experienced
speakers in the National Speakers Association
and its local chapters. They actively promote
the training and encouragement of people
desiring public speaking as a career and
provide mentoring and training. The goal
of public speakers in this group is to achieve
CSP status (Certified Speaking Professional),
a designation that both marks achievement
and quality. Many event promoters look for
CSP's when booking keynote speakers and major
presentations.
Alternatives to CSP
If you want to speak, but aren't gung-ho about the CSP route, there are many other
organizations that encourage
the development
of speaking, graphics, and slide
creation
skills and stage presence. Look
to Toastmasters,
local community colleges, and
even community
theatre as places to sharpen
up your speaking
and presentation skills. |
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