Speaking for PR

For people who have mastered public speaking, acquiring comfort in front of an audience is definitely worth the effort, because it represents an opportunity to win credibility and spread awareness of what one does. For making a business more visible, speaking is very effective. It is also the least expensive way to promote services. The impact of speaking goes beyond the number of people gathered in the audience. When media publicity is linked to public speaking, the impact of it on a business can be exponential. This can include seminars, lectures, workshops, speeches, and panel discussions which could be either for the general public or members of an organization. Even a simple speaking engagement can open up the opportunity for free media coverage.

How speaking can produce media publicity

There are many ways by which speaking can produce media publicity. Journalists may attend a simple talk and even write an article on it. There have been instances where people have sent news releases on specific speaking engagements to local newspapers. This has resulted in journalists interviewing people and printing the resulting article in newspapers. At speaking events one will come across people who can be potential customers or an expert from a similar industry.

Different kinds  of speaking engagements

The different terms associated with public speaking are flexible. What is a seminar for one person can be a workshop for another. For public seminars it would be helpful to send invitations to journalists. If a business has identified industry categories that it would like to drive awareness among, it can focus on securing speaking opportunities at those events. Speaking engagements can also take place in product launches, webinars, sponsored organizational presentations, universities, and religious institutions.

The talk/speech itself

The talk itself should hook the audience’s interest with a brief story. It should be followed by a set of questions or some startling statistics. The focus of the talk should be stated and the background or any practical details needed to draw the attention of the audience should be given. The content should be presented next, and everything should be pulled together with a closing story, a restatement of the main theme and an appeal to action. The audience enjoys or likes a speech more when names, words, and examples relevant to their industry are woven in it.

The reactions to the same material may be different in different places and for different groups. For speaking material to become memorable, it should include some form of audience participation. It is easier to encourage participation from small groups, but some forms of participation work even with a larger group. Asking rhetorical questions can also be helpful as people often answer the question in their own minds before the speaker goes on. Visuals should only be used in a speaking engagement to the extent that they clarify any information that would be otherwise difficult to absorb. It is very important that a speaker keeps within their allotted time.

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