My Take Away From Public Speaking
--
It is not just about boosting your communication skills
I have been an active member of some public speaking organization for almost two years now. In 2018, I was appointed to serve as an executive committee for the club I joined and this the part where i get to deal with members and guests.
I can say that people wants to learn public speaking for various reasons. The first one is of course, those who wants to improve their public speaking skills, some wants to improve their English ( the club I’m serving for is conducted in full English), some wants to be a better leader and gain more confidence.
“People Wants to Learn Public Speaking for Various Reasons”
So, what could be the most important lessons when learning public speaking? Improving your current communication skills ? Yes. Boost your self confidence? Yeah. But there’s more and here’s my takeaway from being part of public speaking organization for almost two years:
1. Public Speaking Encourage you to Take Risks
Look, who isn’t nervous when delivering your first speech in front of the audiences, there is a chance where you might fail and humiliate yourself in front of these strangers and no matter how many times you’ve practice your speech, you will still need to face the odds when you’re on the stage.
2. Learn to Embrace Emotional Discomfort
We tend to go with the emotion that makes us feel good. In public speaking, you must push yourself to deal with your fear and might receive feedback that you don’t want to hear. This is the part where you actually grow, this is the part where you must face yourself.
3. YOU WILL KNOW WHO YOU REALLY ARE
Probably this is the most important lesson. As cliche as it sounds, the best speech comes from genuine heart and soul. You can rationalize everything, you can always use your logic to get away. But you can never ever lie to yourself (unless you’re already numb). My first intention to join public speaking organization was to improve my communication skill but surprisingly I’ve gained more valuable lesson. I got to know who I really am and my actual communication style. For example, one of my mentor said I have always been a confident, outspoken and not afraid to speak my mind. I have never been really aware with these qualities before i joined the organization.
“I got to know who I really am and my actual communication style”
4. It Will Always be the Process
You’re the best public speaker in your club? Good. You have got yourself several trophies from annual speech competition? Brilliant. You have made it to the semi final and was almost close enough to the world champion? Amazing. So there’s nothing more to achieve right? WRONG. Public speaking is like training your muscles, once you stop it will worn out faster than you think. No matter how much you’re good at public speaking there will always flaws. We are all unique human beings and everyone always have different opinion on how we communicate.
Wrap Up
It takes a lot of effort, pain and sacrifice to be good at public speaking. Remember, it doesn’t happen overnight. The key is to be consistent and pay attention to your progress and don’t be afraid to seek out for help whenever you feel like you need one. What i have learned in the past few years is being vulnerable is a sign of courage :).
