Did you know that the fear of public speaking (also known as Glossophobia) is one of the most prevalent phobias in the world? In fact, according to Psycom.net — an online resource founded by the renowned psychiatrist and clinical psychopharmacologist Ivan K. Goldberg — glossophobia affects up to 75% of the population.
As a result, if you can overcome your fear of speaking to large crowds, you’ll be miles ahead of your competition.
In fact, you won’t have any competition…
I gave my first speech 5 years ago, I was 25 years old. I was asked to give a presentation alongside a group of panelists at The University of Calgary.
And that one presentation opened up the floodgates of opportunity for me. Since then, I have given countless talks to thousands of people on self-improvement, personal development, and
self-discipline. I have spoken at charity events, business conferences, and various companies and organizations.
As such, I can tell you from personal experience how public speaking can change your life and help you become a better, more well-rounded person.
Keep reading to learn…
17 Amazing Benefits of Public Speaking
With time, practice, and repetition, you can become proficient at anything. And public speaking is no exception. All it takes is a little effort on your part, and you can begin making progress and experience the amazing benefits this skill set can provide you with.
With that in mind — in no particular order — here are 17 incredible ways that public speaking can make you a better person and improve your life.
1. Inspire Others With Your Story
Everybody has a story. What’s yours? Do you believe it could inspire or motivate people? If so, then public speaking may be the avenue for you. By sharing your ups and downs, your highs and lows, and how you overcame adversity, you will instill hope in others who may currently be in a similar situation.
As a result, people will believe that there’s hope for them too. And that can be a powerful motivator. In fact, your story may be enough to lift someone out of a very dark place. You just never know.
2. Builds Self-Confidence
What could possibly build your self-confidence more than learning how to speak in front of large audiences? Public speakers are often some of the most self-assured and charismatic people you will ever meet. And some of that confidence and charm can be yours if you learn this incredible skill.
Consequently, public speaking will help to develop the bolder side of your character. And as a result, you’ll feel more confident in doing more audacious things and achieving greater and grander goals.
3. Impart Your Knowledge
We all have wisdom that we’ve gained through our own unique set of life experiences. This is true of everyone. For this reason, you have value in the form of knowledge that others can benefit from. And public speaking is the perfect way to deliver that knowledge to the people who may need it most.
Moreover, when you share your knowledge and experiences with others, they become more ingrained in your own intellect. As a result of this, these life lessons are driven further into your consciousness, which means they’ll carry more relevance and meaning in your daily life.
You’re literally helping yourself by helping others.
4. More Career Opportunities
It’s no secret that those who advance in the world are those who offer the most value. And the art of public speaking is a very valuable skill to have. For this reason, people will reimburse you handsomely if you’re competent in this area and have the knowledge to share.
For example, I’ve given talks at schools, business conferences, charity events, and organizations such as the YMCA, the Calgary Police Department, and more because of my public speaking skills.
These opportunities would have never come my way had I not developed my oratory abilities. That’s certainly something to think about.
5. Strengthens Your Self-Image
Imagine being able to confidently step on stage in front of hundreds…
Deliver a gripping speech…
And both captivate and educate your audience throughout your entire presentation…
Do you think that level of mastery would affect your current self-image in a positive way? Of course, it would! Having that kind of ability (and influence) would drastically alter how you view yourself. You’d feel more certain, more valuable, and you’d believe in yourself and your capabilities a lot more as well.
6. Enhances Your Lexicon & Speech Fluidity
To become a proficient public speaker, you must have a strong vocabulary in addition to a high level of oral fluency. This is what allows your audience to not only understand what you’re saying, but also adds to your credibility.
Have you ever heard a public speaker curse and swear every second sentence? Sure, they’re out there. However, more often than not, those individuals won’t be on the stages they could be on sharing their stories. Why? Because they lack professionalism.
A poor vocabulary and an incoherent speaking pattern are detrimental to the art of public speaking. As a result, taking on this skill will help you overcome (and eventually dispense with) these bad habits.
7. Improves Listening, Writing, and Reading Skills
As a speaker, you will have to write your speeches, read and study your topic/area of expertise extensively, as well as listen to and apply feedback to improve. All of these actions will work in unison to improve your listening, writing, and reading skills.
As such, you’ll become more eloquent in these all-encompassing areas.
8. Stronger Communicator
A public speaker must share stories, communicate ideas, and persuade and influence his audience. For these reasons, when you decide to master this skill, you will become a more powerful communicator. And this will spread into other areas of your life.
Stronger communication skills mean you can better understand those around you — and as a direct result — give people what they want and need to be happy.
9. You Learn How to Persuade People
When you decide to learn the art of public speaking, you’re learning the art of how to influence those around you. You’ll learn how to convince your children, persuade your partner, and influence colleagues and associates.
This is a superpower that will serve you tremendously as you go through life. Because whether you like it or not, you are in the business of sales — we all are.
Think about it…
You are selling yourself when you go to a job interview, when you ask someone out on a date, or even when trying to make your point in a conversation with a friend.
In every interaction, someone is always getting sold. Public speaking helps to develop your persuasion skills so you are more likely to get what you want in other facets of your life.
10. Fast Tracks Your Self-Improvement
The average person stops learning, growing, and developing typically in their mid-20s. By this time, they’ve graduated from high school, maybe gone to college or university, landed a stable job or decent career, and have settled into the rhythms of their work-life balance.
As a result, their self-improvement and character development often take a back seat as they don’t learn much more — with the exception, of course, of the natural progression that takes place in their career.
However, public speaking is a skill that constantly forces you to grow. For example, you’re speaking in front of different crowds every time, you’re also at different venues — sometimes you’re even in different cities or countries.
Therefore, you’re constantly learning new things, meeting new people, and having new experiences that contribute to your growth and development as a person.
11. Makes You More Articulate
Every public speaker has one goal. Whether their area of expertise is in personal finance, spirituality, health & wellness, or any other subject where speakers are sharing their knowledge — the goal is the same: To influence, educate, and inspire.
But in order to have that kind of effect, you must be able to communicate your ideas clearly and concisely.
And that’s where public speakers are different from normal, everyday people — in their strong articulation abilities. Pubic speaking will teach you how to properly articulate your thoughts and beliefs in a cohesive manner so that you can effectively communicate them to your audience.
12. Enhances Your Debate Skills
Ever find yourself stumped in an argument? Take up public speaking — especially impromptu speaking if you can. It will make you sharp, witty, and quick on your feet. This will allow you to have coherent (and respectful) arguments and debates.
As a result, you’ll remain more levelheaded rather than losing emotional self-control when things get a little heated.
If this sounds appealing to you, consider joining a Toastmasters club near you. It’s a worldwide organization that hosts club meetings geared toward strengthening people’s public speaking skills.
13. Helps You Become a Leader
If you’re someone who struggles with being in a leadership position, public speaking can help you become more comfortable taking on that role. As a speaker, all eyes are on you. People are looking to you and absorbing your presentation because you have knowledge and experience that they can learn from.
This dynamic will help you grow as a leader and will allow you to feel more confident about these innate qualities that are already within you.
14. Satisfaction and Fulfilment
I remember when I spoke to the kids at the 12th annual My World Conference in 2020. I shared my story of how I transformed my life from a 3-time high school dropout to a Personal Development Speaker. It was an amazing and surreal experience to connect with the kids that day — I’ll never forget it.
But after my speech, several children approached me asking for my autograph and explained to me how they made vows to change and improve their lives.
I couldn’t believe I had such an impact on a group of kids who weren’t any older than 15 years old. As a result, I felt this immense sense of satisfaction and fulfillment wash over me. It was incredible to share my experience and have it influence others in such a positive way!
You can have the same effect simply by sharing with others how you’ve overcome the difficulties and challenges in your own life. It’s an amazing feeling that very few things can compare to.
15. Conquer Social Anxiety
Did you know that social anxiety affects up to 13% of Canadians? That’s close to 5 million people who suffer from this disorder. If you happen to be one of these individuals, public speaking can be a great tool to help you conquer your social anxiety.
Speaking publicly forces you to face your fears, which is really the only way to truly overcome them. As such, this is by far the best remedy to help you surmount your social phobias.
16. Allows You to Make New Connections
Expanding your network is one of the most important things you can do, both professionally and personally. For this reason, public speaking remains a great activity to help you make the connections you need to build lasting friendships or advance your career.
17. You’ll Become a Role Model
As a public speaker, you’re in a position of leadership. As such, other people are looking to you for guidance and direction. This is especially true if the audience is of a younger demographic. You have the life experience and as a result — wisdom — to help them overcome obstacles that you’ve already conquered yourself.
Consequently, you are a role model to these individuals. Even though you may not see it that way, it’s important to realize that that dynamic is at play when you step on stage.
And this is an incredible truth because few things are more humbling than having others look to you as a positive influence.
Master the Art of Public Speaking Today
Public speaking can be a fun and exciting activity that offers a myriad of personal and professional rewards. As such, it’s certainly worth your consideration if you value self-improvement and personal development.
For this reason, whatever your aims in life happen to be, public speaking is a valuable ability to develop, as it will fit in beautifully with the rest of your budding skill set.
