TJ WALKER - THE HABIT INFLUENCER - Personal Development | LIVE STREAM

14 Mar 2019 · 3 min

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2:36

TJ Walker argues that public speaking is a skill that requires formal instruction and deliberate practice rather than relying on natural talent. He emphasizes that many people mistakenly assume comfort equals competence and uses examples — notably Steve Jobs and Ronald Reagan — who rehearsed extensively to appear natural and persuasive.

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Is public speaking something you can be naturally good at or is it a skill that requires specific practice? I'm a public speaking instructor, so call me biased. I think it's insane for anyone not to get specific formal public speaking instruction. By formal I don't mean they stand up and say fellow countrymen or something like that, but but giving them tools to get better. Certainly some people are a little better than others. But you look at any really important skill like writing, think of your favorite novelist of all time. What if that novelist had never gone to first grade or second grade and learned basic spelling or grammar? You think they would have ended up being a great novelist? Probably. It doesn't mean you have to have a PhD but you have to have formal instruction on how to write and how to use grammar. Think of the best professional athletes in the world. How many of them don't have coaches? I can't think of a single one. So if you want to be great, it's relatively easy at becoming a great speaker because most people are so awful and boring. But are some people just a little more comfortable at it from the beginning? Sure, but just because you're more comfortable doesn't mean you're really better. You can stand up, speak, be comfortable, look like you're having fun. No one really remembers your message or acts upon it, so that can be a false confidence Sometimes. Whether you're extroverted or introverted in my opinion, doesn't matter. You can be a great speaker or you can be an awful speaker. Regardless of whether you're introverted, extroverted, natural born speaker, or quiet and shy. Steve Jobs by most account was not some big back slapping extrovert. And yet he became a fantastic world class public speaker. How did he do that? Well, he practiced for hour after hour after hour for a week or more for his major speeches. Ronald Reagan, former President of the United States, would practice his speech reading out loud at State of the Union addresses for a week, for three hours a night. Then he would do a videotaped rehearsal for a full day for his major speeches so that it looked like he was a natural.