In the course of a consulting career, sooner or later you will end up giving a speech or presentation to a group of people – and probably many more after that.  People who work in consulting and professional services increase their chances of success if they have sharpened their skills in public

speaking.  In this week’s podcast, we will discuss why public speaking is such an important skill and what a consultant can do to hone that skill.

Why is it important for a consultant to have good public speaking skills?

Consultants are placed in leadership roles much sooner in their careers. Because of that, consultants are more apt to facilitate a meeting or be asked to facilitate a requirements gathering session.
Most firms hold internal meetings on a regular basis and a young consultant may be asked to present an update on the project they’re working on to the whole firm.
I’ve seen younger consultants given team lead responsibilities very early in their consulting career where they need to meet with a team and lead those meetings.
Sometimes those opportunities are impromptu where someone turns to them on the fly and asks them to update the group on something.
Other times, it’s a planned presentation, maybe with PowerPoint slides. Early in my career, I was asked to attend a sales meetings with customers where we presented a sales proposal.  They liked to have the actual consultants present to their prospective clients rather than just sales people.
Consultants are also more inclined to be involved in professional organizations and there are always more opportunities for speaking at those types of meetings and gatherings.
There are many other situations, but in any case, a consultant needs to be prepared and have the confidence to stand up and speak in front of a group of people.

When should a consultant begin honing skills in public speaking?

The earlier in their consulting career the better.  If you can begin doing that in college that’s great.  Especially as you get up to your junior and senior years, you begin taking classes where you may give group presentations.
I’d recommend seizing those opportunities.  Unless it becomes a power struggle, try to take a leadership role on a team project to lead the presentation.
And when you do give presentations, whether as an individual or with a group, don’t belittle it.  You may only be giving a presentation to your peers in your class, but treat it as a professional presentation.
I remember my senior year in college we had to give a presentation to the class at the end of the semester.  The instructor had the department head come in to watch each team’s presentation.
She had us dress the part with ties and professional attire (at least that was the standard for those days).  We had to prepare PowerPoint slides and make it seem like a professional presentation.
It made it a bit more stressful, but it was more real world.  And I think it prepared us better for when we got into a professional setting.
Many academic programs offer speech classes. I had a class called Business Communications, which was just a speech class as part of the business program. I’d recommend taking a class like this just to get the experience.  Again, play the part of a professional rather than a college student.  Much of public speaking is role playing and playing the role of a professional will get you used to that role early on.
Another thing you can do either in college or if you’re just starting out in a professional services career is to join a professional organization.  A lot of professional organizations have student chapters on university campuses.
It’s a chance to get involved and work with other people.  If you take a leadership role in an organization like that, you’ll get some good experience leading groups and giving presentations.
Involvement in an organization like that gives a student experience not only presenting,