The Public Speaking Ladder

How to climb to the top

Photo by Ethan Johnson on Unsplash

‘Throwing yourself in the deep end’ is the advice you got in school, university, and in work situations. Another variation of ‘just get on with it’. This is unhelpful speaking advice.

If you were climbing a ladder you wouldn’t start by trying to reach the top rung first. Your public speaking journey should be the same. Starting small, getting comfortable and confident first, then scaling up is the approach you need. Rung by rung you make it to the top of the speaking ladder.

There are 5 levels of public speaking:

• Level 1: I am not getting in front of anyone to speak
• Level 2: I have a fear of public speaking
• Level 3: I can do it but it’s stressful
• Level 4: I am a confident speaker
• Level 5: I am a competent speaker

With many rungs in each level you can’t aim for level 5 without achieving the first four levels. This is how you get there.

Level 1: I am not getting in front of anyone to speak

• Start by writing down your worst-case scenarios for public speaking. Make them tangible and tackle how you could remove them one at a time. Also write down the best-case scenario that…