Speaking in public is hard work. There is a reason this is so. It’s hard work because the return on investment is very great.

Anything with a substantial return on investment will require hard work. It is a law of life.

As a speaker, you may be asking yourself sometimes, “Is putting in all this work worth it?”

The answer to this question is yes. Below are three reasons why you should become a better speaker.

To Become an Outstanding Leader

We live in a world that is yearning for leaders who will correctly represent us, understand us, and inspire us.

In our history, there have been leaders who have inspired us without saying many words. George Washington, the father of our country, comes to mind. George Washington, just by his mere presence, inspired and influenced people, and set an example for all patriotic Americans of his day.

But in which we find ourselves now is very different from George Washington’s time. In George Washington’s day and many years after, communications sometimes took weeks to reach the intended receiver.

The Battle of New Orleans fought courageously and successfully by Andrew Jackson and his troops was fought after the peace treaty concluding the War of 1812 had been signed. The news had not reached New Orleans before the Battle.

Now we live in a time of instant communication. We have smart phones, tablets, and computers that are connected to any place on the earth through the marvel of the Internet in an instant.

Name a leader you trust and admire who is not an outstanding speaker. I bet you can’t. That is because being an outstanding speaker is a prerequisite to being an outstanding leader.

There are many people who wear the moniker of “leader” in our world. There are very few who live up to the title.

So, aspiring to be an outstanding leader is vital to becoming an outstanding leader. Our world is craving for outstanding leaders. Why not you?

Another reason to become an outstanding speaker is also to fight injustice.

To Fight Injustice

When I think of a specific leader fighting an injustice, I instantly think of Dr. Martin Luther King. He was the right person in the right place at the right time in U.S. history to battle the scourge of racism.

He abhorred violent protests, first of all, because it is wrong, but also because he knew in the short and long run, violence to make a point would only divide groups further and fuel the fire of hatred amongst them.

As of now, I truly believe we have not lived up to his calling to us in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech: “I have a dream that one day my little children will be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.” We have a long way to go to make this a reality.

The injustice that you face on a daily basis may not be as consequential as racism, but for you in your time, in your circumstances, at your age, it may be as inflammatory as racism.

You can’t fight injustice alone. You have to enlist others in your fight. The best way to do this is to be an outstanding speaker able to inspire and move the hearts and minds of people to follow in your quest to eradicate injustice.

You become an outstanding speaker to become an outstanding leader able to enlist others to fight injustice in our world.

The third reason to become an outstanding speaker is to realize all you were meant to be.

To Realize All You Were Meant to Be

Jim Rohn, the self-development expert, once said, ““The big challenge is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming. You cannot believe what it does to the human spirit to maximize your human potential and stretch yourself to the limit.”

You were put on this earth with certain gifts. Your life’s purpose has been and always will be to discover your gifts and use them for the betterment of humankind. People finding their gifts and using them for the betterment of humankind has always been responsible for all progress in human history.

You have a hidden storehouse of talent waiting to be unleashed onthe world for its and your betterment. What is your undiscovered storehouse of talent? It is your life’s quest to discover your storehouse of talent and act on it for the betterment of others.

Have you become all you can possibly be as a speaker? If you answered yes, think again. There is always some other way to say the same thing, inject a strategic pause into your presentation, and/or end with that relevant poignant story.

It is your job to discover increasingly more effective ways to get your message to travel and take hold in your audience members minds. It is possible, but requires work. Are you willing to do this work?

What of your speaking gifts remain yet undiscovered, masked, hidden to you and others? Only you can supply the answer.

Perhaps you have gifts to make people laugh or teach them a needed new skill or ponder heretofore the imponderable. Whatever they are, when you discover your gifts and develop them to a point for the betterment of others, you will reach a level of human achievement, success, and rarely attained by others. You will also find true happiness in your life.

Improving your public speaking ability will open doors of opportunity for you – doors of opportunity you have never previously encountered. It happens over and over again with each new door of opportunity you open.

Challenge yourself as a speaker by continuously improving on your last presentation. Continuous improvement is the shortest journey to becoming all you can be.

You become an outstanding speaker as a prerequisite to becoming an outstanding leader, to fight injustice in our world, and to realize all you were meant to be as a speaker and person.

The rewards are great for you and all humankind!

Call to Action

• Volunteer to become a vocal leader in an organization to which you belong

• Use your speaking skills to fight injustice by getting involved with a cause you believe in

• Discover one of your undeveloped talents and nurture it, develop it, and take action on it for the betterment of humankind. Then discover another undeveloped skill and so on and so on.