Have you been interested in developing your public speaking skills? I have heard this quote uttered from many mouths of individuals that proactively work to improve their public speaking skills. I will admit that at one time I was also a little skeptical. I have observed that both within myself and in others, when we are self conscious about a difficult issue in our lives, we have a tendency to take it on alone. Public speaking is definitely no exception.

The fear, nervousness, and lack of knowledge about giving great presentations can lead us to a fork in the road with two options:
1) Struggle while wasting time and energy to reinvent the wheel
or
2) Battle back the ugly rearing head of pride and Accept that help is available

What do the experts say about public speaking coaches?

Every year the crowned World Champion of Public Speaking gives an acceptance speech where they graciously thank the many coaches that helped them achieve their success. I personally own a massive pile of instructional cd's and dvd's from world renowned speakers that tout the effectiveness of speaking coaches. The National Speakers Association, the premier professional speaking organization, places an emphasis on improving through the use of speaking coaches. 

Well that's great Jeremy, but I'm not trying to be a world champ or a professional speaker. How does this apply to me?
Speaking coaches apply to your personal life because they have the knowledge, experience, and skill set to dramatically shorten the learning curve to get you results faster!

You came to this site to get better at public speaking.  If you have the opportunity to reach your goals, but in addition save time, money, and precious energy (all of which seem fleeting in our busy lives), then WHY WOULDN'T YOU DO IT?

"We seek out experts in every aspect of our lives" says Dan Smith of Keynote Speaker.  If you are sick you see a doctor, if you get sued you hire a lawyer, and when tax season rolls around you make the dreaded call to your accountant. Public speaking is no different! If you want to get this area of your life taken care of, then consult an expert that has dedicated their entire life to helping you master this naturally elusive skill!

I mentioned that I was originally skeptical of the idea of hiring a speech coach. I am the type of person that enjoys stubbornly battling through the little steps to claim that "I'm self taught."  This is the initial approach that I took to mastering public speaking.  A close friend and fellow Toastmaster decided to meet with me over a meal one day to talk about our public speaking goals.

He revealed that he was working with a World Champion of Public Speaking to take his skills to the next level.  He outlined his personal story of his seven year struggle to reach what he considered to be mastery of public speaking.

Despite the fact that I learned many excellent insights in our conversation, I took one key idea away from the conversation that day. I gained one powerful message that I would never ignore! He said, "Jeremy, I have grown more as a speaker in the last seven weeks, then I have grown in the last seven years!"

I was immediately floored and mesmerized by this bold claim! I decided that day to drop my irreverent pride and hire a speaking coach.  It was the best professional decision I have ever made in my life.  In a matter of months I transitioned from monotone presentations with no stong connection to the audience, to winning speech competitions and being hired by the speaker agency Motivational Speaker to create inspiring messages that I still receive comments on to this very day (from people I don't even know!).  My journey has lead me to becoming a professional speaker and it was all rooted in the fact that I reached out to get help from a speech coach.

I have a challenge for you. I have personally observed and experienced the amazing benefits of using a speech coach. I challenge you to use this site to research more about speech coaches. I challenge you to finding one of the excellent speech coaches associated with this site that are willing and capable of helping you reach your goals. I challenge you reach your potential of become an outstanding speaker!