Bridgette Olubukola Agbalaya

Public speaking!! What exactly is public speaking, you may wonder?
 Think about a time, you had to stand in front of a bunch of people and tell them something. Maybe it was a farewell speech as the head boy/ head girl in grade school or a proposal at work or a speech at friend's wedding. After gathering your materials and preparing what to say, you arrived at the podium and started talking right?

That, my friend, is public speaking, and it involves communicating information before a large audience. What makes public speaking different from just talking to a crowd of people, is in the way the information is conveyed. In public speaking, the information is purposeful and meant to inform, actuate, influence or entertain a group of listeners.

There are five elements of public speaking, and it basically boils down to who is saying what to whom using what medium with what effect. In other words, who is the source of the message. What is the message itself. Whom is the audience, while the medium is the actual delivery method and ending in the effect. Think of the effect as the speaker's intent for the speech.

 Professional development as defined by Wikipedia, is the learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. And I refer to professional development as the lifelong process involving activities designed to improve professional knowledge, skills and attitudes on topic of interest with the goal of improving professional practice.

 If you ask most people, they'll probably say they don't like public speaking. They may even admit to being afraid of it, since fear of public speaking is a very common fear. Or they may just be shy or introverted. For those reasons, many people avoid public speaking as much as they can. If you're one of those people who avoid public speaking, you're missing a great deal😉.

Over the years, public speaking has played a major role in education, government, and business. Words have the power to inform, persuade, actuate, educate, and even entertain. And the spoken word can be more powerful than the written word in the hands of the right speaker.

Whether you're a small business owner, a student, or just someone who's passionate about something—you'll benefit if you improve your public speaking skills, both personally and professionally. Some benefits of public speaking include:      

~Improves confidence
~Better research skills
~Stronger deductive skills
~Ability to advocate for causes and more.

As a professional, Public speaking can be a great way to advance your career. No matter what your goals are, showing your boss that you deserve a raise, advertising your “personal brand,” or finding new career opportunities, public speaking can help you achieve all of this💯.

 Critical Thinking
As a professional, critical thinking is a must - have skill. The process of writing a speech will exercise and strengthen your critical thinking skills, from the research to the actual speech-drafting.

 Communication Skill
When you write a speech, you have to think carefully about the best organizational framework, persuasive strategy, and language to communicate your message to the audience. This type of thinking can help you improve your communication skills. Public speaking also helps you become aware of the typical pronunciation challenge you have in the language you choose to communicate your message.

 Self-Promotion
If you’re looking for publicity, speaking engagements are a great place to start. Look for opportunities to discuss your area of knowledge, and present yourself as an expert. One caveat: you still need to do a thorough audience analysis. If you don’t connect your personal story to bigger issues that affect the audience, you will seem self-centered and irrelevant. If you spout opinions without establishing credibility, you may come across as a charlatan. Even if your goal is self-promotion, remember: the world doesn’t revolve around you, and neither should your speech. You want good publicity, not bad publicity!

 Networking
Public speaking is a great way to connect with people who share your interests and goals. You can get more mileage out of speaking engagements if you initiate conversations with other speakers and audience members. Find out more about their interests, and take those interests into consideration when you write your next speech.

In terms of professional networking, public speaking can help you gain an edge over the competition. A speech will show more of your personality than a resume or cover letter. You can control the content and tone of a speech more easily than you can dictate the content of a job interview. The primary elements of the typical job application–the resume, cover letter, and interview–are tough to ace, since rigid formatting makes it difficult to stand out from the crowd. When you have public speaking opportunities in a professional context, take advantage of them! Try to be memorable, make connections, and follow up afterward. If your professional connections know you as a speaker, you will be more than just another faceless resume and cover letter.
Remember, your network is your net worth

 Impressing your Boss
Success in public speaking is a good indicator of valuable professional skills. Composing an effective speech demonstrates creativity and critical thinking. Holding an audience ‘s attention demonstrates a talent for leadership. Maintaining confidence and poise during a speech and Q&A session demonstrates professionalism under pressure. If you’re trying to impress your boss, public speaking can be a great showcase for your professional abilities.

It Makes You More Aware of How Others Perceive You
One of the benefits of public speaking is that you'll become more aware of how others perceive you. If you know how others perceive you, you can work to improve that perception.

Public speaking requires you to pay more attention to your physical presence. Here are just some of the factors you'll learn to control as you improve your Public speaking skills:
Posture
Tone of voice
Hand gestures
Pacing and other nervous gestures
Interjections like "uh" and "um"
Clothing choices

As you improve your control over these factors not just while you're speaking, but even in everyday conversation -you'll notice that others will view you in a more positive light.

 We've just answered the question: Is public speaking a tool for professional development? Now that you know how public speaking can be a tool for professional development, you may be interested in learning how to improve your public speaking skills. One of the best ways to do that is by taking a public speaking course.

You may wonder, why take a public speaking class when I could improve my speaking skills by practicing. The answer is simple. A public speaking class can help you grow your skills more quickly. Plus, you'll get valuable feedback from the coach and from other class members.

But where can you find a good public speaking class? There are a lot of public speaking classes available if you know where to look. Here are six places to start:

Toastmasters International. This is an organization dedicated to improving people's communication and leadership skills. I am also a member of Toastmasters International. Meetings hold first and third Thursday of every month, 9am. You can attend as an observer.

Public speaking meet - ups: Meet -up helps people connect with others who have similar interests in public speaking.

Coursera and edX:  Coursera and edX partner with top universities to offer low-cost or free college courses.

Other online resources. There are other online resources to help you improve your speaking skills including YouTube videos, blogs, Tedtalks (I love to watch Tedtalks🌹)and more.

Fluent Speech Educational Consult:  offers public speaking  course. You can sign up for a public speaking course.

 Bridgette Olubukola Agbalaya is an Elocutionist, Phonologist and the Lead Facilitator, Fluent Speech Educational Consults.