Rotary: Guest Speaker
Posted by Trudy Gallant
on May 7, 2012
Maria Gallo..renaissance woman, actress, entrepreneur and very talented speaker
Maria Gallo..renaissance woman, actress, entrepreneur and very talented speaker was our guest this morning and her topic was SPEAK! TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS...all about the reasons why a business person might want to develop their public speaking skills. As Maria explained, there are many reasons to imporve your public speaking..to advance your business, to connect with others, to improve the value in your business and to serve your community.
As leaders, Maria pointed out..it is good to be able to conquer your fears and most people have a fear of public speaking..often rooted in our fears of being judged by others. But when you overcome that fear..you can increase your personal connection to others...a good thing in an era of lots of communication technolgy....most of which tends to distance us from more personal connections.
Maria informed us that many corporate CEOs count the ablity to speak in public as their number one tool...and it has been said that 1 hour of personal communication can equal one year of work...using more distancing forms of communication. She talked about the pluses of networking, building relationships, meeting people, devoloping confidence and sharing info with others as that will occur as part of giving a presentation.
Maria described the performance element that is found in pubic speaking and how it differs from just "speaking". She talked about the value of the "present" (gift) of a presentation..when there is no expectation of a return...given for the joy of sharing information.
She described our Club Classifiactions talks as great examples of a public speaking presentation..where we get to share the gift of knowing our fellow Rotarians a bit better from what they share with us about themselves.
As a corporate trainer, Maria has developed a level of confidence in her own publilc speaking abilities but has recently been venturing into the world of stand up comedy..pushing herself past her normal comfort zone. In challenging herself, she has challenged all of us to practise our own skills and to Speak! To Grow Your Business! Thanks for the inspiration Maria!
Trudy Gallant