The Public Speaking industry is slowly but surely taking roots in Ghana. Not that there have not been Public speakers in this country, but that there have not been professional Public Speakers in this country for long. Public Speaking has the potential to develop this country just as it did to America, hence anyone who decides to enter into or who is already in the industry must take it as a serious business and therefore make sure to have:
An Impressive Online Presence: As a Public Speaker in Ghana, you must make use of the Internet. If for nothing at all, you must be present on Social Media Platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Why is this even important? The chunk of the youth populace who need the wisdom in your message are on these platforms 24/7. Therefore, if you are not connecting with them there, where else would you connect with them? Even if it is possible, you should have a website. You could get bloggers and news websites to cover stories on you. The better your online presence, the better your chances of landing gigs that will pay you for your sweat.
Professional Photographs: If you really want to do this business, you must get yourself some professional photographs. If need be, get some money and a few clothes and get into a Photo Studio and get yourself a Photographic Make-Over. You need it. I tell you, you really need. Take studio pictures. Take pictures while you are speaking. Upload these photos on all your online platforms. It portrays you as a serious business person as well makes it easier for people to find photos of you for fliers and ads. And now that there are phones with wonderful camera quality, you have no excuse for not having professional photographs of yourself online.
A Brief Profile of Yourself: Who are you? What do you do? What do you believe in? What motivates you? What is your biggest dream? At which events and seminars have you spoken at? Where have you worked? Where do you live? These are questions that should be briefly captured in your brief profile. This brief profile is not every information about you. It is a brief that captures you at a glance. Why do you need it? There are times that magazines, websites, and various other writers may need a short info on you in a news report, a feature article or even a list of speakers. Your brief profile helps them to find info on you quickly. You can update it as you go along.
A Mentor: Every Public Speaker, no matter how popular or adept you are at the art, needs to have a mentor. You need someone you look up to. Someone who has walked the path you are walking now. A person who understands your struggles and can guide you along the success road. You need someone who can look you in the face and tell you where you went wrong. He or she may or may not be in the same field as you, but he or she should be close enough to you to talk with when necessary. Your need a mentor not a role model. a role model could live far away; a mentor is closer to you.
A Good Dress Sense: A public speaker who cannot dress for the occasion, is that one to a public speaker? As a speaker, at every point in time, you must appear dashing. I’m not talking about suits and tie with shiny shoes. If that is what works for you, fair enough. But whatever you put on must be presentable for where you are going and must encapsulate you as a Public Speaker and a serious business person.
Quite different from my previous article, “The 10 Things Every Public Speaker Is”, which talks about the most common things every Public Speaker already has and which anyone going into the field must have, these points are for both those in the practice as well as those preparing to enter. Funnily enough, as basic as these may sound, there renowned speakers in Ghana who do not have any of these five things.
@efokorkumawutor
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