The 3 Things I Learned About Public Speaking in a Beauty Pageant Competition
Working at Catalyst means you have to be (somewhat) obsessed with narrative building or storytelling. Everyone at Catalyst talks about it all the time. While we’re pretty much similar in that sense, yet, the team is actually very diverse. We all love to do different things in our spare time. I for one would sometime enter beauty pageants. Um, yes, it’s a thing. Through these experiences, I actually have learned a few things that I can apply to my work. At Catalyst, we often have to present and speak in front of our clients. Either to provide workshops or presenting ideas. For many, public speaking is scary. I used to think so too.
What makes someone a great public speaker? In the end, not everyone attracts or really engage the public. How can we win the public over when we never even have any public speaking experience? These are some of the questions I asked myself often. Later, I realized, it’s not just the number of times you go out there and speak, but also how you can use certain strategies to win people’s attention.
The big question in your head now is… “How can I do that?”
Well, I’m just an ordinary person who loves to talk and I’m not a public figure, an influencer, nor a politician. Through beauty pageants that “forced” me to speak publicly during the competitions, I’ve learned that:
- You must know deeply about what you’re going to talk about. One tip is to imagine that you are the only one who knows about it. Nobody but you. And you need to share it with the people because they need to hear it from YOU. No one else but you.
- Use stories and good narratives when talking about your topic. Using stories and examples really help to win the audience over. People don’t really remember facts or numbers but they will remember a good story.
- Share with the audience the reasons why they should listen to you and give them very clear reasons. Make your talk relevant to the audience. Remember, it’s about them, not you. Your talk should clearly explain to the audience why it is important for them to listen to you.
I’ve learned these when I had to represent the Banten province at a national level as a finalist for Miss Global Indonesia. Public speaking can be nerve-racking and sometimes it’s even more so because you really can’t always read the audience. You just go out there and hope for the best. But I hope these three tips have been somewhat helpful. Good luck with your next public speaking!
-WN-
