Four Reasons Every Entrepreneur should be a Public Speaker

Rois Ola

The life of an entrepreneur involves speaking to customers, employees, suppliers and most importantly speaking to sell their products and services. While having a fantastic product is very important, the ability to convince potential buyers and investors about the product is perhaps much more important. The mastering of effective communication, especially to a large audience will not only have a positive impact on your personal brand but will also portray you as an expert who is worthy of being listened to. When I just started out in business I had serious problems communicating with my employees and customers. I would give one instruction and they would do something else. I would discuss sales terms with customers, they would think something different. This costs me so much in sales, customers and good employees because there was a severe communication gap. I was also shy when it came to representing my brand. I just didn’t want to deal with sweaty palms and forgetting what I wanted to say in the middle of my speech. 

Speaking to Investors and Creditors

In business, you will need to fund your company and this may involve looking for money from investors or making presentations to banks and other financial institutions. In some cases, CEOs send their staff on marketing calls, or to have critical meetings with investors. Those requests most times get rejected because the investors want to invest in YOU THE CEO, your dreams and your big idea,  not the idea of your employee. They want to be able to assess if you are worth it. A lot of people miss this opportunity because they have one or two communication flaws they have been unable to overcome, stage fright, lack of self-confidence, short memory span, stammering, talking too fast or outright bad diction and incoherent speech.

 Show your expertise. 

As the owner of your company, you are the face of your business, the first person expected to be seen and heard. You are the catalyst behind the brand, the sugar in the pudding, and the biggest lead/sales generator. The company is you and you are the company. This means you’ll be given the opportunity to showcase your expertise, whether in an article, a guest blog, a television show, a podcast, a workshop or a seminar. You cannot afford to turn down such opportunities to share your knowledge and insight because you hate speaking in public forums, or because you are unable to speak correctly without making grammatical errors. Stop hiding behind the flaw and get someone to teach you what to do. Public speaking is a skill that requires practice. With constant learning and practice and conscious effort to improve your communication skills, you can overcome all your flaws and become confident in showcasing your expertise.

Speaking to Customers/ Selling your Products

As the face of the company, you should be able to handle talking to customers and sell your products. You have to be the example for your employees to follow. They will take a cue from you and act accordingly.  Also, you will have endless occasions to conduct meetings and seminars in front of potential and existing customers. Essentially, you can expect better outcomes from meetings and seminars when you have mastered your public speaking skills. Learn to speak well, learn to speak confidently about your product and services. Most times, you close deals better when you can confidently communicate what your product is all about. 

To be a successful entrepreneur, you can’t win by doing it all alone, and without mastering public speaking, you can’t take your business to the next level. The good news is, not only is public speaking learnable, but a business coach can work with you to develop and cultivate this time-honoured skill. Every Businessperson needs to be seen and heard, brand visibility is not complete if you cannot speak or present well. Public speaking will get you investors and improve your brand visibility. Don’t procrastinate, acquire this skill and watch your business grow.

Business owners underestimate the power of strong communication skills.  When you communicate effectively, you bring more value to all your relationships; employees, vendors, customers. You will be able to communicate well both in one on one situations and facing a large audience.  I am in no way saying you should become the next Fela Durotoye, Steve Harris or Tony Robbins. Public speaking, however, is not just a necessity, it is a skill that is pivotal to your success in business. It is a required skill that needs to be mastered as it will help you grow. You need to invest time and energy into getting training on how to speak, sell, influence and convince. It is not enough to have ideas, you must be able to communicate your ideas and pitch your business. This, in turn, will translate into more sales and more sales into money, owo, kudi, ego, get the gist?

Rois Ola is a public speaking coach, business strategist, human resource consultant and school administrator for children & adults. Follow her on Facebook @roisolaO, Twitter @roisolao, Instagram @coachroisola