Categories: Articles

The Most Underrated Professional Skill

Speaking in public.

I have said it before. I will say it again. Time and time again, I have come across business leaders who have had tremendous success. They are in small, medium and large businesses, along with servicing both B2C and B2B audiences, and from both genders. It’s nearly impossible to pinpoint – with accuracy – the “best practice” that all of them possess, but there is always one skill that they all have: their ability to speak in public. I don’t mean their ability to captivate a large audience. I do mean their ability to publicly explain an idea in a way that other people can understand and rally behind.

Want to become a better leader?

There are many ways to become a better leader. There’s a massive amount of business books that cover leadership and the skills required. Still, if you become a confident and comfortable public speaker, that skill set can often get you further than most. That may sound trite. It is not. I have seen many not-to-impressive leaders pull off huge moves, simply because they have an ability to weave a strong message and capture people’s attention. For years, I would sit – nervously – at board room tables and get increasingly more anxious as my turn to speak approached. Learning presentation skills was a huge part of my professional development. Now, public speaking is a huge part of my profession. I speak between forty and sixty times a year, all over the world. For the past ten years, I have had a talent bureau representing me. Last week, I spent close to an hour with famed speaking coach, entrepreneur, professional speaker and bestselling author, Michael Port, discussing the mechanics of public speaking and professional presentations for his, Steal The Show, podcast. If you have ever wanted to improve your speaking skills, to get paid for speaking, to be better understand how powerful of a business development tool speaking can be, to motivate and empower your team, then please take a listen…

Listen here: Michael Port’s Steal The Show – Episode #67 - Creative Path to Successful Speaking with Mitch Joel.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.