“I’d love to be a better public speaker, but the truth is, my job doesn’t really require me to do that.” 

This is a sentence I hear A LOT.

Often, it’s the first response I get when I introduce myself as a public speaking coach to a new group of people.

And I totally get it. 

Why invest in learning a skillset you’re not regularly getting asked to use? 

But here’s the catch 22…

Speaking opportunities aren’t going to present themselves to you until you start presenting yourself as a skilled public speaker. 

Let’s untangle that for a moment…

Here’s the pattern that I’ve seen emerge with client after client: 

At the end of our first session, I’ll usually get met with a cautiously optimistic smile and something like this: 

“I’m really glad I’m working on this, but I don’t think there are going to be a lot of opportunities for me to practice this week. I don’t tend to get called on during meetings.”

Then the surprised emails start rolling in...

Around week 2: 

“Guess what?! There ...