The Five Star 5 – Why Public Speaking Sucks!
Many people are terrified to speak in public and/or give presentations. Here are five reasons why public speaking and presenting can suck:
- You were not prepared / did not understand your content
- You did not practice ahead of time
- You did not know your audience well enough
- You did not have a back up plan when things like visual aids had technical issues
- You have not at least visited your local Toastmasters Club as a guest, to see how they can help develop your speaking skills
Public speaking and presenting can be a rewarding experience if you address these five points, and several others.
- Are you due for a public speaking “makeover”?
- What is the greatest challenge that you face getting up in front of a group?
Posted on February 18, 2014, in Five Star 5 and tagged Communication, Fear of Public Speaking, Personal Branding, Personal Development, Presentations, Public Speaking, Self Improvement, Success, Toastmasters. Bookmark the permalink. 18 Comments.
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 
I’ve been a Toastmaster for years. I’m surprised more salespeople aren’t a member of this fantastic International Organization (270,000+ members strong)
Hi Kevin! I joined Toastmasters last September and I am really enjoying it. The experience is awesome, and everyone is there to help each other get better. Speaking and presenting takes on going commitment to improve, and Toastmasters can definitely play a big part in that. Thanks again…
Good advice. I was Best Man for a friend of mine and thought I’d do the speech ‘off the cuff’ (as I’d done it 3 times before quite successfully) – I fell on my @ss! One guest even heckled me. Worse thing – I let the groom down. 😦 Prep, prep, prep!
Hey Stuart. Prep is certainly the key. When I do speeches at Toastmasters, the end result is noticeably better when I practice ahead of time for even10-15 minutes. Too many variable come in to play when I get in front of people and just “wing it”. Hope your friend forgave you 😦 Thanks for your comments…
Squarely on point Tim…great post.
Thanks David.. I appreciate you stopping by to comment!
As an MBA student, I have had my fair share of presentations, and have experienced each of these at least once! Good post for the REAL reason why public speaking and presentations “suck”.
Brandon
http://www.brandonhorvath.wordpress.com
Hi Brandon!
Thanks for your comments. I really appreciate you taking the time to give your feedback, and follow my blog. Those were certainly 5 “real life” points that I have experienced as well. Have a great weekend.
Thank you for following mine also! Feel free to leave feedback on any topic that I have written about that you can add additional input on!
Will do Brandon thanks!
Great post Tim & so true!
Thanks Doug!
Couldn’t agree more. Nice post, Tim!
Thanks Anthony!
So right on Tim, I will be presenting four times next week and have been preparing for many weeks. It has to come second nature to you when you do public speaking. I am so glad I have a private office at home to practice in and I have also done videos of myself speaking…Yikes the camera tells all, but is a great teacher 🙂
Hey Tina!
Wow that camera sure is a powerful tool. Sometimes it is uncomfortable looking at the mistakes, but it feels even better as you show the improvement.
I would wish you luck but I know you will do great.
How about just have fun 🙂
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