3 Reasons to Consider Hiring a Speaking Coach
When I first began my quest to become a professional keynote speaker and trainer, I quickly realized it combined many skills all wrapped into one.
Skills such as excellent storytelling to memorization. Plus, massive behind-the scenes work and development of content and technique to patience…a lot of patience to continuously improve.
These are the top reasons to consider hiring a speaking coach.
- You want to be a professional paid speaker. Excellent. Now what! As this is a full-time business, you’ll want to consider your goals. Do you have the money saved to jump in or do you need your daytime job? Many of us started by doing both before making the commitment to leave the safety of a guaranteed check.
Now that you’ve decided to “go for it”, you’ll need to honestly access your speaking skills. Paid professional speakers/trainers are paid because they are good or great and knowing where you fit is important. There is a huge difference between wanting to speak, and getting on stage and crushing it, so be honest with yourself.
I’ve helped many speakers with their business and with their presentation skills. There is a difference, but doing both well increases your chances of success. A speaking coach who is also a professional speaker can help with both.
- You’re in the corporate world and want to be a better presenter. Some of my clients are cool about their company knowing that they get training and others prefer to keep a lid on it and their reasons vary.
This I know to be true, in corporate America, the individual who is able to deliver a presentation, speech or training well always stands out and this is good for one’s career. They stand out because many are somewhere in the average range which is fine. However, being good at presenting at work gets you noticed is the best ways – and a speaking coach can help get you there. More conversations, compliments, opportunities, potential for a promotion – the list is endless.
- Confidence. Someone once said that the only thing that people fear more then death is public speaking. Thankfully, like exercise, becoming a better presenter/speaker takes repetition, training and dedication. Yes, it’s like working out in that it isn’t easy, but the results are so worth it!
I remember coaching Patti. She was confident but lacked the skills to present in an orderly manner. She was all over the place! I showed her what she had going for herself and was doing well by literally mimicking what she was doing. Not to be a jerk, but to allow her to see what rocked! Then I slowly dissected her skills which we recorded and gave her tips to practice every week. To her credit, she did the hard work, the heavy lifting and every week she got better. I was so happy for her. Plus, she landed a promotion a year later that she had wanted. Was it because she presented better and presented herself better? I’m not sure, however she told me that she was “way more comfortable and confident” and believes that the work we did together made the difference.
Wherever your journey takes you, you’ll want to stand out and be terrific. If it’s professional speaking, training or presenting at work, getting the proper training can make a big difference.
Here’s to your continued growth. Let me know if you have any questions. You can always email me at scott@scottlesnick.com Feel free to share any (good or bad) public speaking stories as well!
Continue the Leadership Conversation
The ideas in this article are part of a broader conversation about leadership, employee retention, workplace AI, and organizational change. Scott helps organizations across healthcare, government, manufacturing, financial services, technology, human resources, safety, early childhood education, and professional associations develop stronger leaders and build more engaged workplaces.
Explore Scott’s keynote programs:
- Leadership Speaker – Build stronger leaders, improve communication, and create high-performing teams.
- Employee Retention Keynote Speaker – Strengthen engagement, reduce turnover, and build workplaces where employees want to stay.
- Workplace AI Speaker – Help leaders and employees prepare for the future of work while keeping people at the center of organizational success.
- Change Management Speaker – Equip leaders with practical strategies for navigating disruption and leading organizational change with confidence.
