“I hate public speaking …” Pain Points and Behind the Scenes of Public Speaking
Do a quick search for “public speaking” on Google, and you will be overwhelmed by the number of positive articles extolling the virtues of public speaking. You may have read about the potential of public speaking as a skill and how it remains one of the more important soft skills to develop for the future. We want to take a different tack in our article today – that public speaking may not be as glamorous as you may think! Take a deep breath…before you start cancelling your public speaking classes (be it public speaking classes for kids or presentation skills training courses for adults), let us clarify what we mean by that!
Behind the scenes, public speaking or just a communication scenario, in general, may look tiring, tedious, and time-consuming. There is little doubt that when done right, public speaking is a powerful tool to wield. However, the process to reach that state is not a one-off, instantaneous change! Instead, most great public speakers invest plenty of time and effort to make sure their speech content and delivery is of the highest quality. Today, let us share the three main pain points that happen behind the scenes that we ‘hate’ about public speaking!
Behind the Scenes – The Heavy Lifting
While most of us understand the cliché that there is a lot of work that goes behind a powerful speaker, not all of us truly appreciate the extent of the effort required. A speaking engagement is not an off-the-cuff presentation, delivered with natural charisma and effortless delivery. Instead, speaking is a deliberate affair – it requires careful and precise planning in terms of the speech mindset, speech content, and speech delivery.
What then goes into a successful speech? The heavy lifting can involve various elements. For example, a well-prepared 5 to 7-minute speech may involve months of daily practices and revamp of your script. That initial process may be painful, but most great speakers soon realise that the effort invested is consistent with the value your audience members will receive. To put it differently, you can easily choose not to put in as much thought into your presentation if you just want to deliver quick content to your audience members. Sometimes the pressure can be tiered – for instance, giving a pro-bono speech as a guest speaker at a casual meet-and-greet is much less stressful than a highly paid corporate public speaking training workshop, isn’t it? So, whenever you start feeling this pain point coming up, reframe it in terms of the eventual value to your audience members!
Pain Points – Pointing Fingers
Public speaking, as the term suggests, involves placing yourself at the mercy of (you guessed it!) the public! It is never easy to be on stage, with all attention on you and with your audience members scrutinising your every word and movement. It is for that very reason that one common pain point for most speakers is the idea that you can never please every single person in your audience.
In that context, that one uncaring or careless comment from the audience can stay in your mind for a long time, distracting you from delivering your value to your audience well. We have been there before – that one same comment can wipe out the numerous positive feedback you may have received for that one presentation. While it is tempting to focus on that speck of negativity, reframe your mindset into focussing on elements within your control – your speech message and delivery. Aim to deliver the best value and message to your audience members and the positive reviews will flow naturally from there!
Constant Pain, but Constant Growth
When we speak of public speaking as a skill, we often talk about how it involves the expansion of one’s comfort zone. That is no easy process – these challenging scenarios can be tedious and tiring to prepare for. When you are going through it, you may be tempted to try and speed your way through your delivery and rush off the stage. Not many can bear that awkwardness and pain point of growth on stage!
However, if you find yourself breaking that initial barrier to step onto the stage, remember that the painful process is also a growth process! Even if the delivery then is not the best, that experience alone of pushing yourself further beyond your comfort zone is enlightening. As a speaker, aim to always challenge yourself to explore communication styles or settings that you can use as part of your growth process!
Final Thought:
Turn that Hate into Love!
Despite these experiences, we can safely say that majority of us would eventually enjoy (and even love) the experience of public speaking. While the public speaking goal (to be a powerful speaker) is attractive, it is practical to always remind ourselves about the painful process we need to get through. This process is not impossible, it is merely uncomfortable. However, if you bring yourself to push beyond the discomfort, we are confident that you will develop as a more confident speaker!
We look forward to hearing more tales from you on how you turn that ‘hate’ into a love for public speaking!
By The Way…
If you’re keen to take your public speaking skills & presentation skills (either business/corporate presentation / training for presentation to clients / kids in-class presentation) to the next level so that you may communicate and deliver speeches with greater flair and charisma, feel free to check out our public speaking courses for adults and kids below!
For more about our Public Speaking Courses for Adults :
https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/courses-and-programs/group-classes-for-adults/
If you’re also looking for Public Speaking Course for Kids / Children:
https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/group-classes-students-age-9-18/
If you are a human resources manager/ business owner in your company…
We want to help you bring out the best in your team, organization, and company. Public speaking and communication skills for the workplace, such as persuasion, remain a priority for most corporate training out there. We believe in staying ahead of the curve in sharing the contemporary communication skills to help you and your team remain relevant, competitive and nimble. Through our customized corporate training programmes, your team will benefit from an in-depth, hands-on, and potential-maximising public speaking training programme!
Feel free to reach out to us to curate your own public speaking corporate training programme for your team, company, or organization! Let us help you develop them into highly effective public speakers at work, empowered with effective presentation skills & storytelling skills – them giving speeches with charisma, influence and impact is something you can look forward to!
For effective presentation skills & public speaking skills training for corporates/ employees: https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/corporate-public-speaking-training-workshop/