During my first year in business, I discovered public speaking as a beneficial way to grow my contact base, meet potential clients, and create another revenue stream. What? Another revenue stream? I had not imagined multiple revenue streams when I started this profession. I thought I would work with people to organize their homes, and I did not have a vision for other directions that might lead to.

If you think public speaking is not for you because you are not comfortable speaking to an audience, my advice is to rethink that.

In my prior profession, I was the employee benefits manager for a high-tech company, and part of my responsibility was to present to the employees each year their benefits package. Typically, that meant the benefits costs for the employees were increasing, or their benefits coverage was being reduced. I was terrified to deliver that message every year to an audience of mostly men who could be quite intimidating with their questions and comments. So, when I was asked to speak to a MOPS (moms of preschoolers) group on organizing, I was quite hesitant. But here’s what happened. I discovered that what I love as much as organizing—maybe more—is talking about organizing.

When you’re passionate about something, it’s much easier to talk about it.

Here are a few topics to get you started:

Paper Management

Time Management

Clutter Management

As an introvert, public speaking didn’t come to me naturally, but like Anne, it brought many benefits during my organizing career.

Speaking opportunities were an enjoyable way for me to hear about people’s challenges right from the horse’s mouth, while sharing my expertise, getting my name in front of potential clients, and earning some income.

My audiences included a church group, a day care centre, a hospital, local government, non-profit organizations, a business center, a utility corporation, and professional association conferences and meetings.

It’s a lot of work to put together your first presentation, but once it’s done, it’s not such a big job to tweak it for a different group. I’ll be back soon with a few tips and resources to help you become a more confident and competent speaker.

In the meantime, think about who is or would be your ideal audience! Feel free to share in the comments.

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