As a performer I love standing in front of people, but I realize this is not for everyone. One way to get better at speaking is to find a local speech club such as Toastmasters International. Theses groups will give you a great deal of practice speaking and you will naturally get better. Once you are comfortable with public speaking you can consider giving speeches to a variety of local groups. Veteran groups, nursing homes, and chamber of commerce groups are always looking for interesting speakers and may be willing to pay a small fee. This is yet another way to establish yourself as an expert that your customers can depend on.
As you get better as public speaking your will also get more comfortable in speaking to clients and presenting your business. Even if you have no drive to makes speeches I still suggest learning speaking skills as it will improve other areas of your business.
One other way to use this to attract clients is to start speaking to your clients through video. I started doing this with a video advice column. Here is an example of one of my videos.
I’ll actually be teaching a class at FLOAT on video so I’m really excited. If you’re there stop by.
Twistedly,
Public speaking is something I have always struggled with, even the thought of it makes my stomach churn 🙂
Creating videos sounds like a great idea to start getting comfortable with “putting myself out there” and become a bit more comfortable being in the public eye.. cheers for the tips!