Originally published: 13/09/2017 16:43
Publication number: ELQ-63235-1

How to (and why) Master Public Speaking as an Entrepreneur

The 6 reasons why you need to Master Public Speaking as a Startup Founder according to Dr. Jan Yager, Ph.D + comments.

by Marty Zwilling
Founder & CEO, Startup Professionals, Inc.

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Introduction

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. In fact, they often claim to be part of the survey group that fears public speaking more than death, but I’m not sure how anyone could validate that survey.

Beyond the fear, many really don’t get the value of being willing and able to communicate effectively with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people, both one-on-one and one-to-many. I’m not suggesting that all have to be on the professional speaker circuit to succeed, but let me assure you that public speaking is a required business skill.

Thus, if you are like me, with no real background or experience in public speaking, I encourage you to start early with some traditional training, like a Dale Carnegie course, or read a good book on the subject, like the one just released by successful businesswoman and speaker Jan Yager, Ph.D., “The Fast Track Guide to Speaking in Public.” After that it’s practice, practice, practice.

Dr. Yager outlines in her book just a few of the reasons why an entrepreneur needs to overcome the fear, and master the art of speaking in public, and I’ve taken the liberty of adding a few occasions from my own business experience:

Step n°1 |
You need funding, and have to address a group of investors.
As an investor, I sometimes see CEOs who negotiate to send their VP of Marketing to talk. Those requests will always be rejected, since investors invest in people, rather than ideas, and want to look the top decision maker in the eye and gauge their ability and conviction.
Step n°2 |
You have the opportunity to appear on a panel of experts.
As a startup, you as the entrepreneur are the brand, the brand builder, and the major lead generator.You can’t afford to turn down the honor of being visible and showing your expertise, no matter how small the forum or indirect the role.