Have you ever watched the award-winning film The King’s Speech? If you haven’t yet, it’s time to look for a copy and watch this movie. The King’s Speech serves as one of my inspirations in the talks I give as a motivational speaker in the Philippines. The primary takeaway from the movie is that when you want to become a leader, you have to know how to speak well. In the movie, King George VI had a stammer that he wanted to be cured. Through therapies and exercises, he was finally able to overcome his speech difficulty. At the end of the film, the king delivered his most important speech about England declaring war on Germany. He did it with a suave speech, and his constituents, albeit knowing that war was coming, felt comforted because of the king’s firm voice.
Public speaking may prove to be difficult for many. Understandably, standing in front of a large audience makes one anxious. This is probably why it is considered one of the greatest fears of people around the world.
At the back of your mind, you must probably be thinking that public speaking is not important for people like you who own and manage a business. However, as an entrepreneur, you are expected to be a good public speaker as it will help you and your business. How so?
1. Public speaking can help you win over a crowd.
One purpose of public speaking is to persuade people. Take for instance what Adolf Hitler did to the Germans. Through speech, he was able to convince the Germans that they were the most superior people on the planet and therefore they should do ethnic cleansing. My point is that Hitler successfully did this because of his public speaking abilities. He was able to win over the crowd. As an entrepreneur, sales and marketing are part of your day-to-day tasks. You cannot close a deal with just nodding your head or sending emails to a prospective client. The best entrepreneurs stand on stage and confidently present their product or service to the target audience. They do this through effective public communication strategies.
2. Public speaking can help you motivate people.
Let’s use a more positive example this time. Take Michelle Obama or Barack Obama as examples of great public speakers and motivators. When they open their mouths to speak, people listen. Obama won elections in the United States because he was able to motivate people through his speeches. As entrepreneurs, one of your primary responsibilities is to motivate and inspire your employees. You need to influence them into doing the things you expect them to do for the benefit of the business. There will come a time when these employees would feel tired and burned out. As a leader, you have to know how to motivate them, share your passion with them, and leave an impact on them.
3. Public speaking can help you spread information.
The first goal of public speaking is to communicate information to an audience. As an entrepreneur, you have to know the strategies on how to disseminate certain information to your employees and customers. After all, leading a team means sharing your knowledge with the members so you’re all on the same page.
Public speaking may be scary, but it’s definitely time to practice this important tool for your business. You can never stand being a king who stammers and cannot lead the company, can you?
This is Joey Gurango, your Business Technology Coach!