What Is Public Speaking? & Why Is It Important?

If
you've been asked to give a public speech, you may wonder: what is public
speaking and why is public speaking important? Those questions are quite
logical if you've never thought much about public speaking before.

Public speaking is important in both business, education, and the
public arena. There are many benefits to public speaking whether you're an
individual or a business.

In
this article, we'll define public speaking for you. We'll also discuss the
importance of public speaking in general as well as the importance of public
speaking in business. Plus, we'll connect you to some resources that can help
you become a better public speaker
including some public speaking examples.

Also, if you want to pursue public speaking yourself, be sure to download our free eBook:  The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations. It'll help you master the complete presentation process.

A
Public Speaking Definition

What
is public speaking? Basically, it's a presentation that's given live before an
audience. Public speeches can cover a wide variety of different topics. The
goal of the speech may be to educate, entertain, or influence the listeners.
Often, visual aids in the form of an electronic slideshow are used to
supplement the speech and make it more interesting to the listeners.

A
public speaking presentation is different from an online presentation because
the online presentation may be viewed and/or listened to at the viewer's
convenience, while a public speech is typically limited to a specific time or
place. Online presentations are often comprised of slideshows or pre-recorded
videos of a speaker (including recordings of a live public speaking presentation).

Because
public speaking is done before a live audience, there are some special factors
the speaker needs to take into consideration. We'll touch on those shortly, but
first let's take a quick look at the history of public speaking.

A
History of Public Speaking

What
is the history of public speaking?

There's
a good chance that there's been public speaking, in one form or another, as
long as there've been people. But most academics and others involved with public speaking, including those at The Public
Speaking Project, trace
the origins of modern public speaking back to ancient Greece and Rome. Of
course, those societies didn't have any of the electronic conveniences we've got today to help with public speaking (no slideshows). But they did have a need for
public speaking and developed public speaking methods that are still studied
today.

The
ancient Greeks, in particular, used public speaking primarily to praise or
persuade others. At one point, all Greek citizens had the right to suggest or
oppose laws during their assemblies, which resulted in a need for skilled
public speakers. Public speaking became a desirable skill and was taught. Public
speaking in the time of the Greeks was called rhetoric. Later, when Rome came
to power, public speaking was used during the sessions of the governing body—the Roman senate. The Romans adopted the public
speaking rhetoric methods of the Greeks. In fact, most public speaking teachers of the
time were Greek.

If
you fast forward to modern
times, what
was known as the Latin style of public speaking was popular in the U.S. and
Europe until the mid-20th century. After World War II, however, a less formal
and more conversational style of speaking started to become popular. Also,
electronic tools became available to enhance public presentations. Towards the
end of the 20th century, those electronic tools migrated to the computer and
evolved into the computer software tools, such as PowerPoint, that
we know and use today.

Don't
be fooled, though. Even though today's public speeches are less formal, it's
still important that they're well organized. More on that later. Now let's take a look at the importance of public speaking.

The
Importance of Public Speaking

If
you ask most people, they'll probably say they don't like public speaking. They
may even admit to being afraid of it, since fear of public speaking is a very
common fear. Or they may just be shy or introverted. For those reasons, many
people avoid public speaking if they can. If you're one of those people who
avoid public speaking, you're missing out.

Over
the years, public speaking has played a major role in education, government,
and business. Words have the power to inform, persuade, educate, and even
entertain. And the spoken word can be even more powerful than the written word
in the hands of the right speaker.

Whether
you're a small business owner, a student, or just someone who's passionate
about something—you'll
benefit if you improve your public speaking skills, both personally and
professionally. Some benefits to public speaking include:        

• 
  Improves confidence 


• Better
  research skills


• Stronger
  deductive skills


• Ability to advocate for causes


• And
  more
  
  

Public
speaking is especially important for businesses since they've got a need to get
their message before potential customers and market their business. Sales people and executives alike are
often expected to have good public speaking skills. To
learn more about some of the benefits of public speaking, review the following
article:

• 
  Communication
  
  
  What Are the Life-Changing Benefits of Public Speaking?
  
  
  Laura Spencer

Next, let's explore the methods you can use to become better at public speaking.

How
to Become Better at Public Speaking

Okay,
so now that you understand the benefits of public speaking, you might be a
little more interested. Still, you might think it's not for you. Maybe you gave
a speech once and it didn't go well. Maybe you're afraid of public speaking. Or
maybe you think you don't have a natural ability for giving speeches.

The
truth is that public speaking is a skill. It can be learned. While some people
may have more natural speaking ability than others, or a more pleasing voice,
or are more charismatic—anyone
who can speak can learn to be a better public speaker than they are right now.
It just takes some know-how and some effort.

To
help you become better at public speaking, we'll take a look at these four
areas:

1. Writing the speech


2. Overcoming
   a fear of speaking


3. Practicing
   the speech


4. Giving
   the speech
   
   

We'll start with writing the speech.

1. Write an Effective Speech

The
first thing you'll want to do is work on writing a well-organized, engaging
speech. Because even if you've got a great speaking voice or a great deal of
charisma, you won't give a good speech if your material isn't any good. The
following tutorials can help you learn to write better speeches:

• 
  Speech
  
  
  How to Write a Great Speech for Public Speaking in 7 Steps
  
  
  Laura Spencer


• 
  Presentations
  
  
  How to Write a Great Motivational Business Speech
  
  
  Laura Spencer

You'll
also want to download The Complete Guide to Making Great
Presentations eBook
now for FREE with a subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter. Learn
how to get your ideas formed into a powerful presentation that'll move your
audience.

Also,
don't forget to make good use of tools like PowerPoint, Google
Slides, or Keynote. Having
the right template for your slide deck can make a huge difference in your
presentation. Here are some of the best presentation templates available:

• 
  Microsoft PowerPoint
  
  
  18+ Cool PowerPoint Templates (To Make Presentations in 2018)
  
  
  Laura Spencer


• 
  Google Slides
  
  
  20 Best Business Presentation Templates for Google Slides (2018)
  
  
  Laura Spencer


• 
  Microsoft PowerPoint
  
  
  18 Professional PowerPoint Templates: For Better Business Presentations
  
  
  Sean Hodge

2. Overcome the Fear of Speaking

Fear
of public speaking is very real and can hold you back if you let it. If you don't
feel confident when giving your speech, your listeners may pick up on that,
making your presentation less effective. Fortunately, there are some techniques
that'll help most people manage their fear of public speaking and become more
confident.

First,
let's tackle fear of public speaking. The following tutorials list some
techniques you can use to overcome a fear of public speaking:

• 
  Communication
  
  
  24 Quick Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking
  
  
  Laura Spencer


• 
  Presentations
  
  
  How to Give a Good Presentation—Without Anxiety
  
  
  Julia Melymbrose


• 
  Communication
  
  
  How to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking
  
  
  David Masters

Next,
let's work on improving your confidence. The following tutorial has some
suggestions that can help you feel better about your speaking ability:

• 
  Public Speaking
  
  
  How to Speak Confidently in Public (Like a Pro)
  
  
  Laura Spencer

3. Practice the Speech

Even
if you're not afraid of public speaking, practicing your speech is still an
important step to having an effective speech. If you're in a rush, you may be
tempted to skip practicing your speech to save time. While skipping practice
may seem like a good idea, it's really not.

By
practicing your speech not only do you improve your public speaking skills, but
you also increase your familiarity with the presentation—making it more likely that your speech will go
smoothly. This tutorial includes a handy checklist to help you practice your
speech (and other tips):

• 
  Presentations
  
  
  How to Get Better At Public Speaking (Improve With Practice)
  
  
  Laura Spencer

4. Give the Speech

Now
that you've written a good speech, feel more confident about public speaking,
and have practiced—you're ready to actually give the speech. There
are some tips and tricks you can use on the day of your speech to make it go
more smoothly, though. Remember, you're giving a presentation before a live audience at a specific place and time. So, you've got some concerns about the speaking venue that those who give online presentations don't have to worry about. Some common concerns for public speakers include:

• Will the audience be able the hear me?


• Does the venue have the equipment I need?


• Are there enough seats for all of my listeners?
  
  

Here's a public speaking tutorial with ideas that'll
help you while you're giving your speech:

• 
  Public Speaking
  
  
  10+ Top Public Speaking Tips (To Help You Improve Quickly)
  
  
  Laura Spencer

Public Speaking Examples

Public
speaking examples are great for learning a new skill or improving an existing
skill. That applies to public speaking as well. If you get the chance to listen
to some top-rated public speakers, you should do it. You can observe how other
speakers go about giving their speech and improve your own public speaking
skills in the process.

One
great source of recorded public speeches is Ted Talks, which
is a series of short presentations on a wide variety of topics. Ted Talks are known for attracting world-class and celebrity speakers. You can find my
favorite Ted Talks in this article: 

• 
  Presentations
  
  
  12 Best Ted Talks of All Time (For Business Leaders in 2018)
  
  
  Laura Spencer

Make Great Presentations (Free PDF eBook Download)

We also have the perfect complement to this tutorial, which will walk you through the complete presentation process. Learn how to write your presentation, design it like a pro, and prepare it to present powerfully.

Download our new eBook: The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations. It's available for free with a subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter.

Conclusion

You've
just learned all about public speaking. Not only do you now know the importance
of public speaking, you've also learned a bit about the history of public
speaking in Rome. And, you've learned the public speaking definition. We've
also provided you with some tools to help you learn how to give a public speech
and even provided you with a source for good public speaking examples that you
can learn from.

You should now be ready to create public speeches of your
own. So, go ahead. Write that public speech and give it. You'll be glad you
did!