Have you ever received a call for an interview and experience an overwhelming sense of joy knowing that your application has been selected? After a while, did the thought of going for the interview make you anxious? On the other hand, have you ever had a brilliant business idea, but the thought of presenting it to potential clients shook your confidence?
These are only two of many scenarios that one encounters in a career pathway where public speaking plays an important role and in some instances can be the dealbreaker. Below are some reasons why public speaking is important for your career?
- Communicating ideas to your team or clients
It is widely known that great ideas can boost a career and business. What`s equally important is the communication of those great ideas. In order for a great idea to serve its purpose, public speaking plays a crucial role in expressing your idea so that the intended recipients can listen and understand the message you are trying to convey.
- Promote your skills
Each and every person is valuable and has a skill that they can offer. Often, people don`t realise just how good they are at something and only feel validated once they hear it from someone else. Public speaking is important in being able to promote your skills in a confident way without someone else needing to do it for you. An example of this is during an interview where it is required of you to demonstrate your skills through speaking.
- Expressing your opinions in a confident way
Your voice is important and your opinions matter. During your career, you will be working with different people. Expressing your opinion confidently allows people the opportunity to see where you stand and following it up with doing what you said places confidence and trust in you. It also establishes your leadership skills. Public speaking is important because at some point you might have to debate or negotiate on a public platform (e.g. team meeting, workshop or conference) whereby these skills will be essential.
How Toastmasters can help you?
City Bowl Toastmasters provides the tools necessary to be an effective public speaker which you can use to empower yourself and become successful in your career. Apart from following a pathway and delivering speeches in line with educational projects, Toastmasters provides you with the opportunity to perform various roles with which you can gain some practical skills. For example, you may be the Toastmaster for the day whereby you serve as the official host of the meeting. This would be an ideal opportunity to practice your hosting or facilitation skills should you have the opportunity in your career to host an event, meeting or workshop. You might serve as an Evaluator where your role requires you to provide feedback to a particular speaker with the purpose of motivating them while also helping them to improve. This can help you in your career by giving you confidence and skills to provide feedback to your colleagues on work that they do in an effective manner.
Apart from the meeting roles, Toastmasters provides its members the opportunity to serve on the Executive Committee. For example, you might get the opportunity to serve as president where you would be the leader of the club and execute duties that are part of that role.
The opportunities members have with Toastmasters to help them become better public speakers are endless and there are numerous testimonials from members that have stated Toastmasters as being influential to their career success.
It helps you improve your public speaking skills because it understands how important public speaking is to your career.
*Written by Zaghra Savahl (VPPR of City Bowl Toastmasters)