I often get asked why I care so much about speaking. I will have people tell me, “Chris, why does being a ‘great’ speaker matter so much to you? Our speaker John is a ‘good’ speaker, why does he have to be a ‘great’ speaker?”
As a speaker devoted to learning the art of public speaking, I have hung around a lot of awesome speakers. Through the Champion’s Edge, I have had the opportunity to spend time with and learn from the speaking awesomeness of Patricia Fripp, Craig Valentine, Darren LaCroix, and Ed Tate. In my interactions with them, I have realized something…they have their lives together. I cannot directly credit speaking, but when you meet them, you realize that they have got it together and are moving forward in their careers.
I know what you are thinking, “Chris, you don’t have to have your life together to be a great speaker.”
Oh really? I disagree.
In my opinion, to be truly great on the platform, you have to be great off the platform. That means that you have to have a level of self confidence that comes from being someone who has their life together.
“But Chris,” you are saying, “what if they are just acting? They don’t need to have their lives together if they are just acting.”
That is true. You don’t need to have your life together to be a good actor; however, I think that you can tell when someone is acting on or off of the platform. Now, don’t get me wrong, a good speaker that is a good actor can get away with a lot of your time and money; however, many of those ‘actors’ are found out or after awhile or the spell wears off and you see the speaker of being nothing but the hollow platitudes they repeat.
This is why I push so many people to attempt speaking greatness, because I know that improving your speaking improves the quality of your life. As a Toastmaster, you see it in prison clubs, in retirement homes, and in corporate environments. Becoming a great speaker pushes your self confidence up, and in doing so allows you to know that you can do more than you ever thought.
So for those of you that ask, “Why does being excellent matter?”
I say it is because the pursuit of speaking greatness changes lives…for the better.
Think about it.
About the Author: My Toastmasters Blog is written and edited by Chris Elliott, the founder of the young professional coaching site Young Profit Pros. Chris enjoys using his knowledge and experiences during his speaking engagements, workshops, consulting projects, and one-on-one coaching sessions. The result—connecting people and empowering change. If you would like information on how you can bring Chris to speak to your next meeting, please download Chris' one sheet or contact him by clicking here.
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