Public Speaking in Northern Ireland

 I’m detecting a renewed interest in Northern Ireland in public speaking. What accounts for this I really have no idea. Perhaps it’s an increasing realisation on the part of many professionals that it’s an essential skill to have and one that separates you from your peers if you can do it well. Tim Ferris in his book “Tools of Titans” advises that to be successful in life you should aim to weave together three very different skills one of which should be the art of public speaking.

So what’s the evidential basis for my grand claim that there’s a renewed interest in public speaking in Northern Ireland? Well, first of all, the number in attendance at the meetings of the Belfast Speakers’ Circle has quadrupled this year. Last year the Circle was struggling to get into double figures most times it met. Last time out there was about 50 people in the room at the Clayton Hotel, Belfast all chomping at the bit to get to the podium and give it a go. The SpeakEasy Club which offers people in NI the opportunity to learn the core skills of public speaking is reporting strong interest in their new courses starting very soon across Northern Ireland. Organised by top performers Camilla Long and Sarah Travers participants can expect to be well briefed on the golden rules of speaking in public be it in front of small group of people or something much larger.

Somers White once said “90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform.” By this he probably meant the three Ps. Preparation, preparation, preparation or put another way preparation (dress) preparation (mental) preparation (practice).