We all have the need to be good speakers in the course of our lives and especially in the different areas in which we work. Now, for professionals such as decision makers and public figures of all kinds, it is essential, because many times we are not able to speak in public efficiently or effectively.
The main point of discussion here is to criticize the traditional educational model, since there are four basic skills that we should know and learn, which are: reading, writing, listening and speaking. The traditional educational model only focuses on teaching reading and writing, while the other two skills such as listening, and speaking are relegated
Not knowing how to listen is a big problem because we were never taught to be active listening. Hence, “one of the main problems in communication is that we listen to answer and not to understand.” Active listening is a skill that facilitates the understanding of the issuer, allows to generate a climate of trust and attention, as well as to establish a framework of empathy through the interest we show in listening to others.
Public speaking is another skill that requires assertiveness. It is a communication skill that we can all develop successfully. However, the fact that the educational system does not prepare us to know how we can express ourselves better is a great weakness that has a very strong impact on the lives of many people who never manage to overcome that fear. The fear of speaking in public is called glossophobia.
The question is: How can a society aspire to create leaders when we were never taught to express ourselves well, much less to speak in public? If they have not told us, if they have not instilled it in us, we do not know the great opportunity that we all have to be good speakers to communicate. From the space of our daily life to professional spaces and its importance for public figures is not said.
The advice for public speaking is to be clear about what the goal is; have knowledge of the topic to be communicated; conceptualize the entire intervention in three or four ideas to create a logical structure; be aware of the time you have to speak; try to be direct; manage to argue what is being said; focus on seeding the key ideas in the audience, as well as projecting enthusiasm and energy.
In addition, you must take care of the paralinguistic aspects such as intonation, volume, rhythm, silences, modulation and diction to hear us convincing. But, the kinesics element also enters into this aspect, which basically has to do with facial expression, gestures, gaze, smile and body posture to align what is said with what the body does. We need to give strength to our words with non-verbal language
Speaking in public is an art that we should all cultivate because if speaking badly we understand each other well, speaking well we understand each other better to capture the attention of our public and spread our messages in such a forceful way that they manage to penetrate the audience.
There are myriad examples of effective keynote speakers. One such celebrated name is Tiffani Bova who in the last decade has established her prominence as a keynote speaker. Bova brings her credible input of marketing, sales, and business growth, having worked on board with Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. As a keynote speaker, she has spoken before an audience of more than 400,000 listeners across the globe over 14 years.
Tiffani Bova is a well-recognized growth influencer and innovation evangelist at Salesforce. The speaker is also the author of the Wall Street Journal and 800-CEO-READ bestselling book GROWTH IQ: Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make or Break Your Business (Portfolio). Her podcast, What’s Next! with Tiffani Bova is an absolute sensation on iTunes. It also remains one of the top 100 business and marketing podcasts.
Bova’s vast network includes some of the coveted names in business and she often appears on national television, drawing her invaluable business insights on certain market trends, consumer habits, and business stories. On her podcast, she has hosted some real high-profile guests, such as Arianna Huffington, Tom Peters, Dan Pink, etc. Her experience and knowledge are well credited on grounds of business growth, having influenced highly innovative startups.
The art of public speaking does not lie in speaking a lot, but in speaking as little as possible, but precisely and clearly, because as it is popularly said “what you cannot say in 20 words you will not be able to say in 50 or 80”. There are people who talk a lot and don’t say anything. It is better not even to speak than to speak madly and without sense or guiding focus.
Speaking in public requires courage, judgment, preparation, and attitude. We must all remember that communication is the most important skill in life and that the art of public speaking helps build a better world.
The purpose of public speaking is “something as basic as being able to transmit our ideas and thoughts to others and get them to understand us; connect with them. Then we will decide if we do it to inform, to teach, to motivate or even to persuade.