5 ways public speaking will help you become more a attractive,
trusted and powerful leader
In this blog post, you’ll discover the steps you can implement in order to become a stronger, more influential leader in any industry.
Let’s step into the Speaker Nation time machine and take a look at where leadership truly started to form.
As a species, humans started to thrive the moment we began to develop language and verbal communication. Why? Because instead of previously only being able to produce grunts and unintelligible sounds in an effort to communicate, we suddenly found the words to explain what we were experiencing in the world around us.
As a species, humans started to thrive the moment we began to develop language and verbal communication.
We could verbalize our ideas, we could verbalize our experiences, we could verbalize our thoughts and feelings. Since that moment, humans became vastly more complicated, complex, and sophisticated than any other species on the planet. As a result, we excelled.
The more useful information you could exchange with the people in your tribe, the more your tribe knew, meaning the more likely they were to survive. Picture this: you’ve stumbled across a poisonous plant. Previously, you wouldn’t have been able to effectively communicate exactly what you found and the side effects of it, but now with the knowledge and understanding of how to use words, you can explain to someone else what happened to your friend who ate the plant… And of course, to stay away from said plant.
Here’s another scenario: imagine yourself 200,000 years ago in the back bushes of Africa with your tribe. You’re sitting around a campfire and someone shares a really captivating story about an encounter with a charging rhino. As he’s explaining the rhino charging at him in vivid detail, you notice yourself actually picturing the entire event taking place! He goes on to explain how he escaped the rhino, careful not to miss a detail of the story.
Then, the next day, wouldn’t you believe it? You find yourself in the same situation! Right as you encounter that rhino, you flash back to the story you heard at the campfire. Except rather than imagining yourself right alongside the storyteller, you’re actually being charged at by a rhino… But have no fear! Why? Because the storyteller did such a great job of sharing every detail of their own experience, you’re already equipped with the knowledge to escape this rhino. And because of him, you survived the rhino.
When you get back to the tribe that night, and every night thereafter, guess whose fire you’re going to sit at? Of course, you’re going to sit with the guy who told the rhino story! He shared his survival story with you in such great detail that it actually saved your life, too.
Skip to 2021, doesn’t life today present the same scenarios? (Rhinos excluded.) When you see a large group of people surrounding one storyteller, there’s something inside of you that feels compelled to listen to that story as well. If that many people are interested in what they have to say, it must be valuable. You have to hear it. You can see how that attraction is rooted deeply within us.
This is just one of the many reasons why effective speaking skills and great communication skills will set you up to be seen as the leader of any group, in any scenario.
Now that we’ve covered one way you use your communication skills to be seen as the leader of a group, let’s take a deeper dive into how public speaking can serve to make you a better leader. Here are five attributes to look for in a great leader that relate back to their speaking skills:
We could verbalize our ideas, we could verbalize our experiences, we could verbalize our thoughts and feelings. Since that moment, humans became vastly more complicated, complex, and sophisticated than any other species on the planet. As a result, we excelled.
The more useful information you could exchange with the people in your tribe, the more your tribe knew, meaning the more likely they were to survive. Picture this: you’ve stumbled across a poisonous plant. Previously, you wouldn’t have been able to effectively communicate exactly what you found and the side effects of it, but now with the knowledge and understanding of how to use words, you can explain to someone else what happened to your friend who ate the plant… And of course, to stay away from said plant.
Here’s another scenario: imagine yourself 200,000 years ago in the back bushes of Africa with your tribe. You’re sitting around a campfire and someone shares a really captivating story about an encounter with a charging rhino. As he’s explaining the rhino charging at him in vivid detail, you notice yourself actually picturing the entire event taking place! He goes on to explain how he escaped the rhino, careful not to miss a detail of the story.
Then, the next day, wouldn’t you believe it? You find yourself in the same situation! Right as you encounter that rhino, you flash back to the story you heard at the campfire. Except rather than imagining yourself right alongside the storyteller, you’re actually being charged at by a rhino… But have no fear! Why? Because the storyteller did such a great job of sharing every detail of their own experience, you’re already equipped with the knowledge to escape this rhino. And because of him, you survived the rhino.
When you get back to the tribe that night, and every night thereafter, guess whose fire you’re going to sit at? Of course, you’re going to sit with the guy who told the rhino story! He shared his survival story with you in such great detail that it actually saved your life, too.
Skip to 2021, doesn’t life today present the same scenarios? (Rhinos excluded.) When you see a large group of people surrounding one storyteller, there’s something inside of you that feels compelled to listen to that story as well. If that many people are interested in what they have to say, it must be valuable. You have to hear it. You can see how that attraction is rooted deeply within us.
This is just one of the many reasons why effective speaking skills and great communication skills will set you up to be seen as the leader of any group, in any scenario.
Now that we’ve covered one way you use your communication skills to be seen as the leader of a group, let’s take a deeper dive into how public speaking can serve to make you a better leader. Here are five attributes to look for in a great leader that relate back to their speaking skills:
01
Leaders are experts at building meaningful relationships with anyone, anywhere
If you look at any leader, they all have incredibly powerful relationships with many different types of people. Why? Simply put, it’s because they’re better at communicating. They are extremely capable of explaining what’s happening in their head, sharing their emotions, and sharing their ideas. As a result, they understand how to effectively communicate with other human beings in a way that makes people want to not only listen to them, but also follow them.
By garnering a strong understanding of themselves, they’re able to understand how to communicate the concepts in their head that start out as just an idea and effectively grow them to fruition. Having a conversation with someone who knows what it’s like to relate, who knows what it’s like to tell great stories and to actually share what’s going on in their lives—and to really hear what you’re sharing—will set you up for better and more meaningful relationships.
As humans, it’s one of the greatest joys in life to actually be heard. We love to be understood, and because of that, people love to be able to share openly with someone who really knows how to listen. One of the strongest tools you can have as a great communicator is knowing how to listen. As a result, everyone you encounter will feel worthy; like they belong in every conversation and exchange you have. This then translates into people wanting to spend more time with you, listen to you, and care about what you have to say.
People love to be able to share openly with someone who really knows how to listen.
02
Leaders with clear visions get clear results.
As a leader, when you are a great public speaker, you will be able to properly share your ideas with people in a way that makes them want to understand you. They’ll be so intrigued by your message that they’ll dive into their own research, start to share your ideas for you, and really act as a cheerleader for your stance.
When you can communicate your ideas clearly, you give people the ability to see your vision just as you do. If your idea can’t be visualized by your audience, you don’t actually have a vision, you just have an idea.
When you can communicate your ideas clearly, you give people the ability to see your vision just as you do.
So the sign of a great leader is someone who’s able to communicate their ideas properly to other people, sharing their vision in an effective and almost tangible way.
03
leaders unite people
How? If you’re able to explain what the common goal is and can paint a clear vision for your audience, you’re well on your way to uniting any type of group. Keep in mind that your audience can be anyone in anything from a boardroom to an auditorium, to a small circle of people. If more people listen to the same speech and if you can share your vision with multiple people at once in a very persuasive, confident, reliable way, you strongly increase your chances of uniting your audience to work together toward one specific goal.
When you have the skillset that empowers you to be able to explain your vision properly to more people at once, you hold the key to unifying them.
04
Leaders hold themselves accountable.
Whether we admit it or not, society looks up to leaders for answers and direction. When you’re sharing a vision and uniting people to work toward that vision, like we talked about in the previous point, you become the face of that vision. You are virtually in the process of creating a movement. That’s the end goal, after all, right? As such, no matter how small the group of people you’re leading may be, you need to be able to support, backup and defend your cause in any potential situation.
The moment you find yourself in a situation where everyone turns their heads to look at you for answers, and everyone is either expecting you to come up with a solution, or defuse a conflict between people, or something doesn’t quite go as planned… What are you going to do? How are you going to move this group of people toward the right direction? You need to be prepared.
The only way you can keep it all under control is by having excellent communication skills. You may not have even realized if you’re doing this with multiple people at once, not only are you flexing your great communication skills, but you’re also flexing your public speaking skills. By being a stronger communicator, you’ll be a stronger public speaker, and ultimately you will become a world-class leader.
The only way you can keep it all under control is by having excellent communication skills.
05
Leaders create a powerful following
The more people you have standing behind you, the more powerful your movement will be. So many great leaders have hundreds, thousands, even millions of people who are following them because people see them as great leaders and worthwhile people to be following. We know who we’re following when we choose to follow them. It’s a conscious choice. We have good reasons why we follow the people we do, and it often comes down to a leader’s ability to communicate why they are worth following.
The more people you have standing behind you, the more powerful your movement will be.
So what reasons do we look for? Typically, we choose to follow the people who share the biggest benefits with us, who increase our quality of life, and who can support us in whatever area we might need help in.
Think back to the campfire storytelling example. You’re going to sit with the person who shares incredibly valuable stories with insights and knowledge you can apply in your own life. When you’re a great speaker, you’ll curate a great following. The more following, the more you can do as a leader.
When it comes to effective leadership, think of it as a cycle: when you’re a great speaker, you’re a great storyteller, then you’re a great leader, suddenly people start following you, and because people start following you, other people will want to follow you. This cycle results in a stronger influence and impact on the world. And as it continues to build, you realize that the bigger the following, the more influential you are as a leader.
In Conclusion
At this point, we invite you to take a good look at yourself. Reflect on your own situation. Where are you already thriving as a leader? Where could you possibly step up your leadership skills? If you feel like you’re ready for the next level, either in your personal or professional life, better communication skills are the answer.
Since we’re always here to help you out, check out our comprehensive mini guide called The Stage Effect, where we share with you exactly how you can implement these steps in order to become a stronger, more confident speaker and, ultimately, leader in all areas of your life.
