Public Speaking (Enemy Number 1)

Public speaking is tough. All eyes on you, the thought of failure slowly setting in, gripping you with fear and anxiety. Most of us have felt this at some point in our lives. I felt this in college giving a presentation on asset management, I felt it during an investment pitch on the job. So how do we overcome this fear. Thankfully there's an easy remedy: practice, practice, practice. The more familiar you are with public speaking the easier it becomes. Again, public speaking is tough, but it can also be your greatest asset. Forbes.com featured an article short list of why public speaking is great for you:

1. You will be viewed as a leader
2. It will increase your exposure
3. You will gain trust from others
4. It will reduce your competition; most people hate public speaking so much they will avoid it at all costs
5. It will redefine you

So, if you're like the vast majority of the population (those of us who hate public speaking) why not try and focus on improving upon your weakness? Again, practice creates the best results. Here, are a few organizations that specialize in training individuals in public speaking. If anyone is a member and would like to comment, or if you would like to add to the list please do so in the comments section.

Where to practice:

1. Toastmasters International- been around since 1924 so they must be doing something right
2. University Public Speaking Clubs- check out a local university in your city for public speaking groups
3. Meetup.com- has a large network of local public speaking groups

 

Practice is the key. At my UG all classes taken through our business school had a group presentation component, which forced everyone to experience presenting/ public speaking at least a few times a semester pitching unique subject matter to different people over four years. Let's just say I absolutely hated it back then, but I'm glad I was forced to learn how to present and talk in public.

"I'm a historian, and that freaks me out."- Mike Tyson
 

I'll second that. Join a toastmasters group, the benefits for your personal confidence and professional communication skills can not be overstated....and it doesn't take much time out of your week to just participate. A lot of the time there will even be clubs that form within individual companies.

 

As a former anxious public speaker turned fearless public speaker, I cannot stress the practice point enough. If you rehearse repeatedly, are confident in the material you are presenting, and don't follow a strict word-for-word speech, you will have no issues.

After all, once you get over the first 30 seconds of presenting, you will speak effortlessly and fearlessly.

 

I've found that the people that have prepared word for word speeches and presentations are usually the ones that have the hardest times with speaking publicly because they can get flustered so much easier if they lose their spot in the note card or speech.

Whenever I do a presentation, when I prepare all I do is get a few notes that I want to hit on for each slide, but never a word for word paragraph or anything like that. I never even use quotes, instead I'll paraphrase, because I can do a presentation 20 times, and I won't say the same thing exactly like I did in a previous presentation.

make it hard to spot the general by working like a soldier
 

As a former anxious public speaker turned fearless public speaker, I cannot stress the practice point enough. If you rehearse repeatedly, are confident in the material you are presenting, and don't follow a strict word-for-word speech, you will have no issues.

After all, once you get over the first 30 seconds of presenting, you will speak effortlessly and fearlessly.

 

Toastmasters. This is the answer. I joined a club at work and they met every Thursday at lunch time. It instilled a ton of confidence in me when in front of a crowd. I think the most helpful part of each meeting was the "table topics" session, where you got up in front of the group and had to answer an ad hoc question and speak for 2 minutes. It's amazing how quickly your mind will get over the "fear" portion of speaking, and switch to a quick, Clear Thinking mentality.

MKballer
 

Yeah, I was thinking of eminem, but also one of my classmates would sweat profusely when speaking publicly. Toastmasters is an excellent way to help with public speaking and one that I would encourage everyone to join for a while.

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade
 

Be prepared. Practice. Visualize yourself giving the best presentation ever. I know, its not easy, but keep at it for a bit and it will work wonders. All these things will give you the confidence you need, to succeed.

Visualization is so powerful. So is confidence.

**How is my grammar? Drop me a note with any errors you see!**
 

Est possimus incidunt quaerat. Veritatis atque ducimus magnam et. Dolorem atque magnam cum delectus. Eligendi architecto atque in praesentium est possimus.

Sed minima et odit. Molestiae tenetur autem est maxime.

Facere quo ut consectetur necessitatibus deserunt id. Maxime ab qui dolorem porro. Quis repellendus est natus enim dolores quisquam fugit. Magnam quia et aut incidunt rerum non.

 

Quod amet voluptas voluptas natus. Deserunt est quisquam vero. Vero quia veniam autem omnis ea quia est. Aliquam aliquid autem quia alias consectetur. Voluptas labore molestiae rem provident.

Pariatur aut sit ut. Et veritatis sit quia ut necessitatibus illum. Iste et cumque iste et eos quia quod.

Voluptatum dolores aut totam possimus qui unde. Aut consequatur consequuntur quas.

Cum illum nulla voluptates exercitationem et sint. Qui nesciunt corporis fuga provident. Autem impedit ullam est accusamus. Error quas quisquam at omnis. Eligendi nulla velit distinctio et fugit harum enim.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”