Post by Lois Ritarossi, CMC, President High Rock Strategies
The thought of public speaking terrifies many people. As someone who has been speaking at industry events for many years, my advice is to seek out opportunities to speak in front of industry peers. While you may not think of yourself as a speaker, there are many benefits that come from public speaking. My top three are:
1. Build Credibility and Confidence
Speaking at a conference, seminar, or webinar provides you the opportunity to be seen as an industry expert by people who don’t know you. Public speaking allows you to demonstrate your understanding and subject matter expertise on the given topic, building credibility. And with credibility comes confidence. You will feel more confident after being acknowledged as a speaker and interacting with attendees.
2. Expand your network
Expanding your network of contacts is always smart – no matter what stage of your career. Jobs and companies change quickly and having a larger network of colleagues and contacts across the industry are invaluable. Public speaking will expand your network with credible references. Having a large network of contacts means knowing people who will refer you, advocate for you, provide you with advice, and support you during times of career change. I have built professional relationships with speakers at events I attended and at events where I was a speaker. These relationships have been important factors in my success.
3. Pay it forward
By speaking at an industry event, you will provide a fresh perspective and share your knowledge and experience with others. There are new people and new companies that may be attending a conference for the first time. Your presentation, or your perspective, maybe the spark that makes a difference for an attendee. Your seminar or speech may be the one event that creates a future opportunity for someone else.
Great speakers are not born. But they are well-trained. We can all become effective speakers with proper preparation and coaching. Be brave, be generous, and share your talents and knowledge. Seek out those who plan industry conferences and seminars and ask previous speakers to share their connections.
Take the first step and sign up to speak at a 2023 event!
Lois Ritarossi, CMC®, is the President of High Rock Strategies, a consulting firm focused on sales and marketing strategies, and business growth for firms in the print, mail, and communication sectors. Lois brings her clients a cross-functional skill set and strategic thinking with disciplines in business strategy, sales process, sales training, marketing, software implementation, inkjet transformation, and workflow optimization. Lois has enabled clients to successfully launch new products and services with integrated sales and marketing strategies and enabled sales teams to effectively win new business. You can reach Lois at highrockstrategies.com.
