Public Speaking Improvement Plan

00:01 Public speaking is like any other skill in life.

00:03 You're either making it better or worse.

00:06 It's very unlikely you're going to stay at the exact same level.

00:09 My advice for you would be have specific goals for yourself, have specific improvement plans if you're used to speaking in front of 50 people.

00:20 But once a year you could speak at your national trade show or your national sales convention in front of 500 people, and you're a little bit scared.

00:28 Start doing the things now to prepare you to speak in that venue.

00:32 Always look for something that's the next level up.

00:37 Does it matter where you are? In the speaking world, there's always something that is a notch or two above.

00:43 So start planning now and start preparing.

00:46 Hold yourself accountable.

00:48 It doesn't matter how long you've been doing this, you need to record every speech you give and watch it, so you can figure out What are you doing well, so you can do it more. Sometimes it's one tiny little thing, but over time it is huge.

01:04 It's quite significant to make small, tiny, incremental improvements.

01:09 Also, you need to create a database of speakers you admire and respect, so you can learn from them.

01:16 These days with Apple TV, Internet TV, I find it's frankly more relaxing and more interesting to just flip on TEDTalks and watch great speakers than it is some lame sitcom for entertainment.

01:28 I always learn something, even if it's a speaker.

01:31 I'm not fascinated by the subject matter.

01:34 You can always learn something about their style, their technique, their visuals, their interaction, their movement.

01:41 So if you want to be a great speaker, it has to become a lifelong passion.