8 Benefits of Public Speaking for Your Career

It’s very common to be afraid of the prospect of speaking in front of other people – but if you can overcome your fear, there are many benefits of public speaking. Not only can developing good public speaking skills be very beneficial for your career; it can also help you adopt practices that will help in all aspects of your social life.

In this blog post, we’ve compiled a list of eight benefits of public speaking that can help you in your career and beyond. Keep reading to find out why you won’t want to miss out on building these skills!

What Is Public Speaking?

Before we get into the benefits of public speaking, let’s recap what public speaking means.

Public speaking (also called oratory) is defined as an oral presentation or speech delivered to a live audience. Generally, we can break down the practice into five categories:

1. Informative Speech. This is the most common form of public speaking. It means relaying information to educate an audience on a specific topic. Informative speaking could involve a long presentation, or it could be as simple as providing some basic instructions to someone.
2. Persuasive Speech. This is a valuable form of public speaking, the purpose of which is to influence the beliefs or actions of others. We often use logical reasoning and emotional appeals to persuade. This method can be effective in a number of situations ranging from formal debate settings to the choice of where to go for lunch.
3. Demonstrative Speech. This type of speech explains how to perform a task or activity. Demonstrative speeches often provide step-by-step tips and make use of visual aids, such as presentations. For instance, a business owner might pitch a new product to potential investors and highlight its key features and benefits. 
4. Entertaining Speech. As the name suggests, this kind of public speaking aims to captivate and amuse your audience. Stories, humor, and other engaging content are used not only to inform your listeners but also to give them an enjoyable listening experience. This speech type is common at ceremonies, dinner toasts, social gatherings, etc.
5. Inspirational Speech. This is often considered one of the most powerful forms of public speaking. Its aim is to evoke emotion and inspire positive change in audience members to empower, uplift, or motivate them. Speakers use personal experiences, compelling stories, and other motivational techniques to inspire a sense of purpose. Inspirational speaking can be effective in team meetings, motivational seminars, leadership conferences, etc.

How Can Public Speaking Benefit Your Career?

Now let’s take a look at eight benefits of public speaking for your career.

1. Develop Your Research Skills

Preparing a speech can help you develop your research and fact-checking skills. Giving out false information, including erroneous facts, or quoting unreliable sources can cause you to lose credibility with your audience. Therefore, before you begin writing your speech, you’ll be motivated to do some thorough research on your topic and gather relevant and reliable data.

Strong research and fact-checking skills will help you not only deliver compelling speeches but also:

• Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in your industry
• Learn about your direct competitors
• Formulate better-informed plans and strategies
• Expand your knowledge base 
• Write high-quality articles, reports, white papers, etc.

2. Build Stronger Arguments

This benefit follows from the preceding one. By researching your topic before speaking in public, you’ll be able to develop stronger, more persuasive arguments.

Rhetoric is the art of speaking or writing effectively. Coming from ancient Greece, the word originally meant “the art of speech.” Ethos, pathos, and logos are all examples of rhetorical appeals that you can use in your speeches and written communications:

• Ethos is about establishing yourself as a trustworthy source of information.
• Pathos is about appealing to or influencing the audience’s emotions.
• Logos is about using logic and reasoning to support your argument.

Structuring your thoughts, facts, and arguments effectively is just as important before the writing stage as it is during the writing stage. Master the art of rhetoric, and you can apply it to your conversations in the work environment, speeches, and written communications.

3. Improve Your Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

When you work on your public speaking skills, you won’t just get better at making speeches – all your communication skills will improve. Being able to communicate effectively is a huge advantage in any career path. One of the first things prospective employers will notice about you is your oral communication skills. And being a competent communicator is equally important for freelancers and solopreneurs, who will often need to speak with clients to secure new business, jobs, or contracts.

When structuring a speech, you’ll often be forced to take a step back and think about your delivery and the most effective way to communicate what you want to say. This means using clear, concise language and a professional, confident tone. You’ll also likely put some extra thought into your body language and ways to read the body language of your audience. Doing so can help you break less effective communication habits and develop better ones. For instance, you may try to:

• Make eye contact with your audience
• Use confident hand gestures 
• Reflect your emotions in your facial expressions
• Avoid habits such as using filler words (um, like)
• Vary your pitch

You can apply these skills in other career scenarios too, from interviews to meetings and pitches. Improving your communication skills can also help your more personal relationships and everyday social interactions.

4. Boost Your Confidence

As already mentioned, lots of people fear public speaking. In fact, some experts estimate that as much as 77% of the population suffers from glossophobia. Some people may never fully lose their apprehension of public speaking, and that’s OK. But the more you practice public speaking and build on those skills, the more confident you’ll become.

The praise you’ll receive after giving a great speech is often a welcome reward for conquering your fears. Overcoming any kind of fear is empowering. Plus, dealing with nervous feelings before giving a speech can teach you how to handle other fears you might have in your career or life more generally.

5. Differentiate Yourself from Colleagues

Having good public speaking skills will help you stand out from people with talent, education, or experience similar to yours. Being a confident speaker displays critical thinking skills, creativity, leadership abilities, and professionalism.

Developing public speaking skills will help you excel at job interviews, making you more likely to get hired. In the workplace, you’ll be more confident sharing your thoughts in meetings, thereby ensuring that no one else can take credit for your ideas. After identifying yourself as someone who’s not afraid to speak in public, your employers and coworkers will be more likely to remember who you are. A study by the University of New York actually found that those who speak up most in a group usually end up as leaders. So perfecting the art of public speaking could make you more eligible for promotions or career advancement down the road.

6. Unlock More Networking Opportunities

Events or situations that involve public speaking are also great places to meet new people. After you’ve given your speech, like-minded people often want to come and talk to you. Don’t leave the area as soon as you’re finished; mingle with the audience and answer any questions. If other people have also given speeches, make sure to approach them and offer praise for a job well done. These are all valuable opportunities to make friends, build professional contacts, and generate business.

7. Broaden Your Vocabulary

The more experience you gain by speaking in public, the more you’ll think about how effective specific word choices are. You don’t want to repeat the same thing over and over. You also don’t want your speeches to be filled with common fillers such as um, ah, like, you know, etc.

Working on broadening your vocabulary will enrich your linguistic and communication skills. Better skills in this area can make you sound more intelligent and confident whenever you’re talking. Plus, you can transfer your new vocabulary to your written communications, too.

8. Become a Better Listener

This benefit is often overlooked when we discuss the advantages of public speaking, but working on your speaking skills can also help you become a better listener. While consciously working on how you speak, you’ll want to pay more attention to how others deliver their speeches as well.

Different people articulate themselves in different ways. By paying attention to how the people around you talk, you’ll become a more active listener. This capability helps you stay present in the moment, and the person talking to you will appreciate the respect and attention you’re giving them.

Becoming A Public Speaker

If you want to know how to become an expert public speaker, take our Becoming A Public Speaker course. It teaches a repeatable process to effectively prepare for public speaking opportunities so you can speak with confidence and give engaging talks that energize and empower any kind of audience.

talks that energize and empower any kind of audience.No previous experience is required. If you want to find out whether this course is for you, try two lessons for free right now!

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5 of the Best Public Speaking Courses for Professionals 5 Public Speaking Skills Every Speaker Should Have How to Overcome Fear of Public Speaking What Are the Different Types of Public Speaking?