I just want to include this from Awaken the Giant Within by self-help guru Tony Robbins. Whatever you think of Robbins try to set that aside because this is good stuff as it relates to public speaking:
“People in my seminars often ask me, “How long do you think it will take for me to really master this particular skill?” And my immediate response is, “How long do you want it to take?”
If you take action ten times a day (and have the proportionate “learning experiences”) while other people act on a new skill once a month, you’ll have ten months of experience in a day, you will soon master the skill, and will, ironically, probably be considered “talented and lucky.”
I became an excellent public speaker because, rather than once a week, I booked myself to speak three times a day to anyone who would listen.
While others in my organization had forty-eight speaking engagements a year, I would have a similar number within two weeks. Within a month, I’d have two years of experience. And within a year, I’d have a decade’s worth of growth.
My associates talked about how “lucky” I was to have been born with such an “innate” talent. I tried to tell them what I’m telling you now:
mastery takes as long as you want it to take”.
Certainly something worth bearing in mind if you want to rapidly improve as a public speaker.
From what I’ve heard Robbins improved his public speaking by going along to various different Toastmasters clubs. Although it is not clear if he joined many clubs and completed the manuals, or he just went along as a guest and participated in Table Topics only. However, in the above quote he could have been doing public speaking to any organisation.
For myself I joined two Toastmasters clubs in the beginning. I got advised to do so by the then President of my first club.
She said by joining at least two I can accerlate my opportunities of booking myself speaking slots and reduce the time that it took me to gain my Competant Communicator status.
And she was absolutely right.
I decided that I wanted to achieve my CC status in a year as I was told that it usually takes a year to eighteen months to complete the 10 speeches. I have to say now that I didn’t achieve that goal –
I exceeded it by achieving my CC Status in 11 months!!
I did it using the structure of Toastmasters, belonging to two clubs, and using as the public speaking techniques laid out in Instant Speaking Success
