As chairman of multiple companies, including Navana Pharmaceuticals, Anowara Construction Ltd and Gas One, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury Ronny has amassed a global portfolio of businesses with interests in an array of industries. This article will look at public speaking and its integral importance for entrepreneurs and business leaders, helping them to win over their audience, be they investors, partners or potential customers.
To establish and build a business, entrepreneurs must gauge their individual strengths and weaknesses, identifying potential areas for improvement. For many, public speaking is not an aptitude that comes naturally.
An individual may be great at talking one-on-one and enjoy an active social life yet find the notion of addressing a large crowd terrifying. Unlike socialisation, where most people are naturally exposed to years of practice, public speaking is an activity where opportunities must be actively sought out – or, in some cases, thrust upon them.
For any business leader, recognising and developing changing skill sets comes with the job title. Honing public speaking skills not only requires entrepreneurs to step out of their comfort zone to speak to and motivate large groups of people from within their organisation but also better positions them to share their expertise with those outside the organisation. As they continue their entrepreneurial journey, perfecting their public speaking skills is a crucial opportunity for personal growth.
Great public speakers communicate their vision and story clearly whether presenting to a hundred people or just a small crowd. Public speaking is about much more than having confidence in front of a crowd or inspiring a vision; it is about persuading and influencing audiences of all sizes to take action. According to Harvard Business School, effective communication is crucial for business leaders, enabling them to gain trust and in turn drive higher sales. A PwC survey revealed that 28% of consumers are prepared to pay a premium for goods from brands they trust, while 46% agreed they bought more from trusted organisations.
For those seeking to improve their public speaking skills, there are various avenues to explore. An obvious place to start is attending more in-person networking events or offering to present at local business meetups or associations. Joining a local Toastmasters club can be helpful. Alternatively, they may opt to create talking-to-camera videos for their social media channels or apply to be a guest speaker on relevant industry podcasts.
According to a report by PwC, 93% of executives agree that building and maintaining trust can directly impact a business’s bottom line. In the same survey, 86% of executives said they highly trust their employees. Worryingly, however, the PwC report revealed that just 60% of employees said they felt highly trusted by their employer.
With trust currently at a premium in business, it is crucial for organisations both large and small to grasp every opportunity to build trust with key stakeholders. When it comes to trust, as the PwC report points out, employees feel it, customers buy it and investors demand it. With 24% of executives citing a lack of clarity regarding stakeholder expectations, robust stakeholder engagement is a must. Businesses operating in all market segments therefore need to create an effective communication strategy, outlining how and when to communicate with stakeholder groups to engage with them, recognising that the ultimate goal is to open up lines of communication to ensure all stakeholders are on the same page in terms of all the decisions the company makes.
Public speaking and clear communication help business leaders to access new opportunities. Whether speaking at a business event, in the media or for a podcast, professionals have an opportunity to boost awareness of their brand, which can directly impact the business’s bottom line.