Recent Work With Emerging Sales Leaders

In late January, I was invited to work with some emerging sales leaders at a local branch of a major international firm. The company identifies high potential employees and then has the attendees progress through a series of weekly meetings focused on skill development and skill practice.

I was invited as the first presenter on the topic of public speaking because public speaking is a broad, foundational skill.  In the business environment, public speaking encompasses formal speeches, off-the-cuff commentary, participation in team meetings, professionally voicing differing opinions, and to some extent even small talk. In the sales environment, effective communication includes addressing objections with a prospect who isn’t sure she needs your product or service.

My Training Approach

I led the group through some basics including asserting their credentials, a basic speech structure that is adaptable for any speech but especially off-the-cuff commentary, with some tips on managing nerves, content selection, and preparing longer presentations. I ended with a video I use to illustrate the art of recognizing personal stories that support other content. Audience members remember solid, illustrative stories.  I wrote about finding stories here https://gycz.blogspot.com/2022/10/comfort-zone-leap-from-829-feet-great.html

Adapting to the People in the Room

It was a pleasure to lead these dozen employees through a one-hour workshop. It’s fun to lead sessions such as these.  This was the first time these attendees had gathered as a group, and surprisingly to me, most didn’t know each other. Some had been with the company 7 months and some 26 years.

With smaller groups, early in the engagement, I usually invite brief participant introductions for my benefit and the benefit of all attendees. During this session we later built in some round table public speaking practice, which offered an opportunity for more thorough introductions. 

My simple question inviting this was “how were you selected for this development program?” Some of the attendees were very nervous to answer this, while seated around the table, within their supportive team.  All of them survived the exercise, and all sounded credible and professional, although some judge themselves critically.

Conclusion

It used to surprise me to encounter people who feel they should be skilled at public speaking, but they’re not currently confident in their abilities. People will make comments such as “I’m terrible at public speaking.”  

It no longer surprises me to hear such comments. I work hard to remind these folks that public speaking is a skill, and if they haven’t had the opportunity to practice the skill, there is no reason that they should feel bad about lacking the skill.

Skills need practice.  The best athletes in the world practice basic skills. Public speaking is a skill that requires regular practice.