When public speaking is thrust upon you

When I began coaching clients on public speaking, I had expected most of them to come from the corporate sector. I imagined executives, managers and team leaders who were required to stand up and present in front of their colleagues, customers and peers with the goal of informing, educating and inspiring.

What I failed to consider was the number of professionals who enter into careers that don’t require public speaking skills, but have now - perhaps due to promotions - had it thrust upon them.

“I hated drama at school, and loved science”, Helen lamented in her email to me, “so I thought by becoming a doctor I would be safe from having to stand up in front of loads of people and talk.”

I work with many people like Helen who, consciously or unconsciously, entered into careers that required facilitating one-on-one or small group conversations, but did not foresee that speaking to larger groups of people would eventually be required.

In some ways this can be harder than having to confront and work through a dislike of public speaking early in ones career. When starting out, your drive to learn and succeed may give you the motivation to work through your fear. If you are made to stand up and speak regularly from the start, you soon become acclimatised to it.

The older we get, and the longer we allow the fear to linger, the more painful it is when we are forced to face it.

However, it doesn’t need to be painful. Think of it as a new skill you need to develop just like all the others you have mastered over time. Know too, that there is plenty of help available to get you to where you want to be. Everything we learn was once frightening and uncomfortable because it was new. Even Helen admitted the first time she watched live surgery she fainted! If Helen can go on to become a successful and skilled consultant, she can certainly learn how to command a room and deliver an effective speech.

5 MOST COMMON ‘NON-PUBLIC SPEAKING’ JOBS WHICH MAY REQUIRE PUBLIC SPEAKING (from my experience): 

Medic

Founder of startup/small business

Software Developer

Army Medic

Engineer