Ideal Jobs for the Public Speaker
This section Public Speaking Jobs discusses some ideal jobs that you can take up if you want public speaking to be part of your job.
You might be a gifted speaker and you are looking for public speaking jobs that can utilize that gift and hone your public speaking ability, or you might be someone who feels that you need to be in a role where you can stand in front of people and communicate.
While most managers need to speak in front of their staff often, there are some roles where your natural ability to speak can play to your advantage.
In this section, I will share with you some possible roles you can take up.
Public Speaking Jobs
Public Speaking Jobs #1: Fund Raiser
Doing fund raising for worthy causes could be one of your possible career choices.
This job means that you have to speak in front of huge crowds of affluent people, influence and convince them to give part of their fortune to the poor and needy.
Of course, you won’t be speaking to affluent people all the time. Sometimes you’ll be going to schools, institutions, companies to convince them as well to contribute to the worthy causes.
If you really are a good speaker, I do recommend you help out in this role either full time or part time as there are a lot of causes out there that need contributions from society.
In this role, your ability to persuade and inspire must be honed and developed as convincing people to part with their money with no immediate gratification can be one of the toughest things to do.
Public Speaking Jobs #2: Teacher
As a teacher, your main role is to speak on a daily basis. You could be standing in front of a crowd ranging from 10 – 200 in a classroom setting.
In a classroom, it is not just about speaking, but communicating in a way that is interesting, engaging and easy to understand.
Most youth nowadays are very restless people and it takes more ability for teachers to capture and hold the attention of their students for long.
Your classes might range from 1 hour to 3 hours; the longer the class is, the more you have to do to ensure your students stay engaged throughout.
As a teacher, you should have the flexibility to use videos, visual aids and other teaching aids to help in your presentation and you should use it as much as you can.
Your role is not to load the students with information, but to engage them with simple, clear language that is easy to understand.
Public Speaking Jobs #3: Salesperson
As a teacher, even if you were boring and doing a lousy job, no student would really complain because most of them are so used to teachers that don’t speak well.
Neither would your job be jeopardized.
But not as a salesperson.
A salesperson’s livelihood depends on his/her ability to speak and present well.
Your job is about making appointments and persuading these people to purchase from you.
While most of the time your appointments are one to one; it doesn’t make it any less important that you communicate well in front of your client.
But more than just your speech, everything from the way you dress to the tone of your voices makes a difference whether a client will say “yes” to you or not.
While most public speakers already get paid by the time they make their speech, you don’t. Your ability to communicate well both as a speaker and a listener will determine if you would get paid.
A salesperson’s job is highly challenging and sometimes stressful; besides being a good speaker, you have to have a lot of energy and drive to perform well in this role.
Public Speaking Jobs #4: Training Representative
A trainer’s job is similar to a teacher’s, but your goals are slightly different.
While a teacher teaches to ensure that the students learn facts and information, a trainer’s role can be broader than that.
A trainer doesn’t just need to inform, but he also needs to motivate and inspire the audience.
Most companies send their staff for training because they believe it won’t just upgrade their skills and knowledge, but it will also inspire them to excel in their work. And that’s what you need to achieve in your short time with them.
A teacher might have a whole semester with his/her students, but you probably have a few days.
Your job is tougher in that sense, because it means you have to build rapport with your class immediately and that first impression you make on the first day will last through the whole period of your training.
Also, a trainer’s audience tends to be in the working corporate, and sometimes you might come across someone in the audience who is far more experienced than you.
As a trainer, you must have the necessary experience and research to stand up for what you’re teaching, because sometimes there will be a member from the audience who will challenge you.
Nonetheless, a trainer’s job can be very fulfilling as your role is largely about people empowerment.
Public Speaking Jobs #5: Travel Guide
As a travel guide, you have to speak to their tour group on your job. Because you probably will be sticking with them for 3 – 14 days in a stretch, it’s important that you keep an arsenal of local stories, jokes and history under your belt.
I’ve seen bad travel guides that just rattle off facts and information without expecting their tour group to listen. After doing the job for a while, they get tired of it and resign to just speaking to the air.
However, a travel guide’s job can be really fulfilling because you meet people from all over the world on a daily basis.
Your job is really to share with them what your local culture is all about. It is to connect with them on an individual basis, and fascinate and “wow” them with the richness of your culture.
It isn’t an easy task, but it’s doable because tour groups who are travelling, especially to exotic countries, would expect amazing stories and a peculiar way of life compared to where they come from.
Because you’re with them for the whole trip, it’s also important that you know when to speak and when to be silent. A seasoned guide will know when the audience wants peace and quiet and when they need to be informed.
The list of public speaking jobs here is not exhaustive.
There are literally thousands of jobs out there that is waiting for a public speaker.
Anybody that can communicate well is highly valued in the workplace, and therefore, if you are looking to become a leader in the future, I do recommend that you start with a job that requires you to speak in public very often.