How To Become A Public Speaker

Hi. I'm Simon Bucknall, and in 2008, I won the European Championship of Public Speaking. At the Art of Connection, we help ambitious professionals to connect with their audience, and we do it by bringing world class communications expertise into the training room to enable our clients to persuade, influence, and inspire others.

If you want to become a public speaker, the first thing you have to do is to decide what it is that you want to speak about. Now, that may take a little bit of time, but the key thing is to really think hard about what you have of value. Maybe it's a particular skill you have.

Maybe it's a particular ideal that you feel very strongly. But getting clear on what the purpose of your speaking is, is the most important thing you can do. Then it's about finding opportunities to speak.

And there's a whole range of different options. Toastmasters International comprises a network of more than ten thousand public speaking clubs around the world. There's probably a club near you.

Alternatively, you might go and speak at organizations like Rotary or Lions, or a local community organization that perhaps has dinners or regular meetings, or perhaps at your next networking meeting. Another option is to start volunteering for speaking opportunities within your place of work. Many people think of presenting in business as being somehow different from public speaking, and in fact, it absolutely is public speaking.

The question is, are you on the lookout for those opportunities when they arise? Let's be honest. Many people would rather die than stand and speak in front of an audience, so my guess is there'll be plenty of opportunities out there if you seek them. A final thought, if you want to become a speaker, is to ensure that you spread the word, so that people know you want to speak.

Again, it may sound obvious, but it could be a simple website, you might put together a simple brochure, but some way or another, people need to know that you are available to speak. Social media's a great way of doing this, through Facebook or Twitter or Linked In. There are so many people in this world who are terrified by the prospect of speaking, but the world needs speakers. But if nobody knows that you are in that business, and available to speak, whether you're doing it for a fee or not, if nobody knows, then how can they book you? .