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Writers spend a lot of time sitting behind a desk in solitude with their thoughts. I enjoy working on a project, researching and revising until the copy is the way I want it. I usually deliver my work via the internet and have customers I’ve never laid eyes on. It’s a stress-free job, especially when you work from a home office as I do. This week I was away from my desk and, on two occasions, remembered work can be nerve-wracking.

Industry Expert
Wednesday morning, I travelled to Edith Cowan University in Joondalup. Invited as an “industry expert” to judge oral compositions, I was flattered, honoured, and extremely grateful to Sue Hickton for considering me. Sue and I have been following each other on Twitter, but I had never met her in person before Wednesday morning. She is part of the Faculty of Business and Law at ECU, which incorporates the Business Edge curriculum – the first of its kind in Australia.

My role was to critique the six student finalists competing for first place in public speaking. Joining me as an industry expert was Dr. Mark Bennett from Learning Collaboration. Even though his credentials contain many terms foreign to my experience – PHD, atomic, physics, mining, etc. – we are both seasoned public speakers. Dean Roepens from ECU joined us in the judging. Also from ECU, Aaron Jackson facilitated the session and both he and Sue contributed to the judging.

Job Readiness
All six students surprised me with their preparation and professionalism. I was expecting to count the number of “ums”, warn against going over time and give pointers on posture and appearance. The goal of the Business Edge program is to prepare graduates for the reality of corporate life. It’s working very well. Despite visible nerves, every one of them pulled off a professional presentation demonstrating competence in public speaking. I was impressed. To a person, the recommendations for improvement had more to do with refining a skill than acquiring knowledge. It was a very satisfying way for me to spend my morning.

Small Business Expo
The tables turned the next day. Presenting at the Brew Small Business Expo Perth on Thursday, I had the opportunity to speak about Content Marketing to a group of small business owners. I’ve built my business using the three components of Content Marketing:

• Search Engine Optimisation  (SEO)
• Content
• Social Media

Once again, my invitation to speak at the Small Business Expo came through Twitter. This time Bambi Gordon, a Sydney-based Director of The Brew whom I had never met, opened the door based on my tweets on @globalcopywrite. I was thrilled.

Ready, or not?
Maybe it was because I had been analyzing students the previous day. Perhaps it was because I was putting my credibility and that of my company on the line with this seminar. Either way, by Thursday morning I was regretting I had ever agreed to present. I’m one of those rare creatures who enjoys public speaking, so it felt extremely odd to be out of sorts. As the room filled up, I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I had worked on the presentation for 2 months, had it professionally designed and rehearsed every day for the past 3 weeks.

Sage Advice
I got a rocky start but soon found my pace. I remembered advice from my early days of public speaking, which I also shared with the students. The audience wants you to do well. They’re rooting for you. No one attends a presentation with the hopes the speaker is terrible. When you realise you have the goodwill of the entire room behind you, things get a whole lot easier.

It’s a shame none of the students I’d judged the day before were there to see me. Public speaking is a skill and an art. You never, ever leave a presentation knowing you delivered it perfectly. You rarely even give a talk the way you planned it. You just forge ahead and learn from each experience. One other thing the students would have witnessed is how powerfully a public speaking gig can affect your career. I was booted out of the room when the Q&A portion threatened to run into the next session. By the time I got back to my desk, I had emails from attendees asking for more information. I spent all of Friday replying to requests and following leads.

Is it worth 30 minutes of discomfort to supercharge your business? You bet. I would have to say standing in front of a group is the single most effective thing I do to establish authority and drive prospects to my business. With so many people terrified of speaking in public or refusing to do so, anyone who can get on their feet and deliver a credible talk is already ahead of their competition. The Business Edge curriculum at ECU is going to make it harder on all of us by ensuring their graduates have the skill and confidence to compete.