4 Tips in Public Speaking from Dale Carnegie

If there ever was master of public speaking, that would be Dale Carnegie. Don’t get me wrong. I have never actually heard the man speak. I couldn’t even if I wanted to since he died of Hodgkin’s disease on November 1955. And I was born of July 1987. So…Yeah. You guys do the Math. Not that I didn’t try. I googled him and tried to find a video of him in YouTube. But I couldn’t find any. I guess video cameras weren’t in use around the early 1990’s yet. But even if I have never heard him speak I know that he was a great speaker. When I read his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, I was blown away by the ideas he presented. The core idea of his book is that you can change the behavior of other people by changing your reaction to them. For those who haven’t read this book yet, READ IT. Seriously. It’s a must read for people who want to succeed in life. Another book of Dale Carnegie that I’d recommend is How to Develop Self Confidence and Influence People by Public Speaking. This book is essential for people who want to be better speakers. I have listed down an excerpt from the book.

These are 4 tips in public speaking from Dale Carnegie.

1.       Start with a strong and persistent desire. Enumerate the benefits this effort to train yourself will bring you. Arouse your enthusiasm for it. Think what it can mean to you financially, socially and in terms of increased leadership and influence. Remember that upon the depth of your desire will depend the swiftness of your progress.

2.       Prepare. You can’t feel confident unless you know what you are going to say.

3.       Act confident. “To feel brave,” advises Professor William James, “act as if we were brave, use all of our will to that end, and a courage fit will very likely replace the fit of fear.”

4.       Practice. This is the most important of all. Fear is the result of a lack of confidence; and a lack of confidence is the result of not knowing what you can do; and that is caused by lack of experience. So get a record of successful experiences behind you, and your fears will vanish.

Speakers are Leaders

There is no doubt about it. If you want to succeed in anything – most especially in business- you need to be a good speaker. May it be in America or elsewhere. Speakers are leaders. Most often, leadership roles do not go to the most intelligent or the most skillful workers. They go to the man who knows how to communicate best. I have seen this to be true in almost everywhere I go. The most effective leaders I know are good communicators. They know what to say, how to say, and when to say it.

Contrary to popular belief, good speakers are not born. They are MADE. There is only one way to improve in anything. And that is to practice, practice and practice. Really, there is no other way. This is especially true when it comes to public speaking. The more you speak in front, the easier it seems to become. You might even find that you actually enjoy it. This was my experience. It was my mom who convinced me to join Toastmasters. Toastmasters International is an international, non-profit public speaking organization that can help you improve your leadership and communication skills. Now ever since I read RichDad, PoorDad back in high school I always knew I wanted to be a businesswoman-an entrepreneur. And if wanted to be successful in business I needed to become a good speaker. That is what motivated me to join Iligan Toastmasters club.

The first time I spoke in front, I trembled with fear. My thoughts were in a jumble and I did not know what to say. Now that experience would have traumatized most people. But that only made me all the more determined not to give up. I was determined to become a good speaker and nothing could stop me. And so I joined Toastmasters. Fast forward, 1 and a half years later. Now I have become club president of Iligan Toastmasters and the experience has been wonderful. Now I am more confident. Now I relish and enjoy speaking in front of a crowd. I have not only improved as a speaker, I have also improved as a leader as well. How could I not when as president I had to lead the club. I know that what I am learning now in Toastmasters I can use someday when I finally decide to go into business and put up my own company. As John Maxwell often said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership. And leadership rises and falls on communication.”