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Like everything else in the world, public speaking has evolved. Yahoo! Now, instead of working up the courage to do something that only a handful of people do, we can embrace public speaking as a bonafide business choice. We can become speakers as a way to increase our audience, and we can become speakers to share our message. Either way, speakers have never been more important. Why? Two reasons for starters:

 

1)… People just don’t have as much time as they used to. Years ago, if someone wanted to learn about something, the easiest option was to buy a book. That’s just not the case these days. Yes, Kindle devices have made books more portable for sure, but the biggest shift has been with audio books. According to Statista.com, between 2009 and 2015, the number of audio book titles published rose from approximately 4,600 to over 35,500. That’s a lot of audio titles. It’s also evidence that while people might not have time to sit and read, they are finding ways to sit and listen.

 

And that’s what people in your audience are doing. They are sitting and listening to what you have to say, many of them grateful for the opportunity to learn without having to read a book. 

 

2)… People always have, and always will, love to window shop! As a speaker, you’re providing the people in your audience with the opportunity to listen to you speak—aka window shop. By the time you’re done speaking, they’ll have made a couple of decisions. First, they’ll have decided if they like the content of what you’re saying. Second, they’ll have decided whether you’ve presented yourself as someone who can be trusted. The advantage for you is that those people have basically pre-qualified themselves on their own. This is a win for you because as soon as you step off the stage, you’ll know that the people coming up to speak with you are true potential customers and clients for your product and/or service.

 

There’s nothing quite like listening to someone share their message in person. Think back to audiences you’ve sat in. How many times have you been inspired, educated, informed, or entertained? That’s what speaking is all about… sharing something of value with people who might not have access to it otherwise. It really is just that simple.