Is Mastering Public Speaking Good for Bloggers?

Back in 2005 - me hosting an event!

Mastering Public Speaking is a huge skill for most successful businesspeople.

The ability to articulate ideas clearly and in an engaging way is fundamental for politicians, company directors and sales people.

The problem is, it is possibly one of the most nerve-wracking things a human being can do, ranking number three on the list of phobias, second only to spiders and snakes.

Think of Public Speaking and you may immediately condure up an image of standing on a stage in front of people talking about a subject. You might even feel frightened, as your little inner voice starts to say, ‘I hate public speaking. I can never do that’.

Many people can remember back to situations in their lives when they had to stand in front of a crowd, be it in the classroom or at a meeting, in order to deliver a speech or a presentation of some kind.

The fear is well remembered – that feeling of complete and utter horror at having people staring, waiting for the words to come out. The racing heartbeat, sweaty palms and the inability to concentrate are all too familiar feelings that we would just as soon forget.

Perhaps you were in school and were forced to give a speech. Maybe you dreaded that day for weeks ahead of time worrying and obsessing about how dumb you were going to feel and how uncomfortable it was going to be. But somehow, you got through it and survived. That doesn’t mean you ever want to do it again.

If you can remember feeling like this at one time or another and are very happy that you do not have to face that terribly uncomfortable situation anymore, then you are surely relieved.

During my corporate career, I delivered many presentations in front of thousands. Public speaking has never really concerned me. It was part of the job. See the image of me back in 2005? I hosted the company’s annual event.

Now I am a full-time blogger…has that changed?

Being a blogger, we just sit at our PC’s all day writing… tweeting… marketing… sending emails, don’t we?

NO!

Mastering public speaking is actually good for us as bloggers.

Public Speaking isn’t just about standing up on the stage and giving a presentation. It comes in to play when you attend meetings. As a blogger, perhaps you meet up with other bloggers on a regular basis and talk tips and techniques.

And what about teleconferences? Perhaps part of your service is a teleconference course when you have to speak to several customers (albeit on the end of a phone line). This is still public speaking.

And then of course, there are videos. Standing in front of a camera, making a video of yourself sharing advice is also Public Speaking.

Blogging is NOT just sitting at your PC all day, writing.

One of the most important aspects of blogging is building relationships and to do that you need to talk…you need to meet…you need to publicly speak.

Having a fear of public speaking could make you miss out on a lot of blogging opportuniues. All the big bloggers/Internet Maketers around stand on the stage in front of thousands, sharing their advice, and often get paid very well for doing so. Getting out there and being seen is as much a valuable part of building your business as writing regular blog updates.

Is that something you can see yourself doing?

Or would you be stuttering and saying things like ‘ahhh’ and ‘you know’?

What am I saying here?

First, let me make something clear: You don’t have to master public speaking to be successful at blogging.

BUT…if you want to speed up your success or want even more success, then public speaking is crucial.

Instead of being scared to death of being in the spotlight, no matter what the circumstances may be, after mastering public speaking you will feel comfortable and very willing to share your opinions and ideas with others. With the ability to speak well in public, you can form new friendships / relationships and that can only help your blogging success.

You must have a view on this one? What is it? How has public speaking helped you? How has it held you back?

Share you views in the comments below.

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By the way, a little plug for my public speaking course, which offers you some great tips and techniques for conquering your fear and making a great impression. Here’s the link: Mastering Public Speaking

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