Did you know there is a multi million dollar price tag to not giving speeches and presentations? Every opportunity to give a speech or presentation that you turn down means that you have spent a lot of money- money that will never come to you, clients and prospects that will never find you, and directors who will never think of you to be suited for that high up position in your workplace.
You may come up with a million excuses to avoid giving a speech or a presentation on a given day and think that you have gotten out free but you must know that it has a cost. People tend to talk about free speaking gigs but i believe that every speaking opportunity that is turned down is incredibly expensive.
So every time you see someone else speaking, you must feel as if you should be the one speaking so you can display your skills and talents and market your organization or cause. Even in my career, every time someone has brought up an interesting topic about me as i train them, it has been because they have seen one of my previous speeches.
Your profession may be different, but the basic lesson here is that you should be feeling nervous and uncomfortable about NOT speaking as it could be costing you a fortune.