I’m an introvert, and I’ve built a career around public speaking
When I tell people I’m an introvert, they usually don’t believe me — and I understand why. For the past decade, I’ve built a career as a business school professor teaching in front of a classroom and as a paid professional speaker, frequently addressing groups of hundreds or even thousands.
To most people, that doesn’t scream “introvert.” That’s partly because people often confuse shyness — fear of being judged by others — with introversion, which essentially means that socializing feels tiring after a while.
But it turns out public speaking is actually a fantastic option for introverts, because being the center of attention means you can avoid an introvert’s worst nightmare: unstructured mingling with complete strangers. Instead of fumbling to break into conversations and fish for elusive topics of common interest, people come to you, ready to introduce themselves and talk about topics that you’re guaranteed to be knowledgeable about, because you just gave a talk about them.
If you’re an introvert who struggles to feel comfortable at amorphous “networking events,” it may be worthwhile to explore changing the dynamic entirely by taking up public speaking. Here are three ways to get started.
Identify the right topic
If you haven’t done public speaking before, it may seem like an impossible hurdle. What would you speak about, anyway? If you’re an entrepreneur, the answer is probably something related to your business. If you work inside of a company, you may never have been called on to do outside presentations. Obviously, you’ll first want to check your company policy and make sure public speaking is allowed. Depending on the topic, as long as you make it clear you’re not speaking on behalf of the business, it’s often fine.
At that point, you can begin to assess your areas of expertise. It’s often challenging for us to recognize our strengths, so start by asking trusted friends what they think you might speak about, or in which areas they believe you have unique or valuable knowledge. Another alternative is to ask yourself questions like:
What do my friends frequently come to me for advice about? Maybe it’s helping them with decorating tips, or dog training techniques, or résumé assistance.
Do I have special skills or experiences or training? If you’ve been a Navy SEAL or spent 10 years living in China or have deep expertise in artificial intelligence, those are all topics people would likely be interested in hearing about.
Do I have hobbies or passions where I’ve developed disproportionate knowledge? Maybe you possess an encyclopedic knowledge of gin varieties, or North American birds, or self-help literature.
Experiment when the stakes are low
If you’re new to public speaking, you don’t want to put yourself in a high-stakes situation too soon. Instead, seek out a low-key, intimate event where you can volunteer to talk briefly.
Make sure that with the help of the event organizers, you are adapting your topic to the interests of the group. A professional association will almost always be glad to hear a useful talk about networking strategies or social media techniques; if your expertise is birding, best to save that for the local neighborhood association or conservation group.
Repeat the process until it feels comfortable
One of the most challenging aspects of public speaking, as I frequently see with students in the courses I teach, is controlling your physiology. If you’re not used to being onstage, you may initially be flooded with stress hormones that make it hard to concentrate. When your heart is pounding, your throat is constricted and your hands are clammy, it’s not easy to remember what you wanted to say.
The answer, in addition to slowing down your breathing, is repeat exposure so your body understands that speaking isn’t a threatening situation, and you can relax into the moment.
Early in my career, I put in a “tour of duty” by teaching once a week for nearly two years, giving me lots of practice with a “safe” audience that couldn’t be too rude to me (after all, I was grading them) and had to show up every week. Eventually, speaking in front of a group became completely normal, and I stopped feeling any stress response at all. A great strategy to “get in your reps” is to teach a local adult education class on your topic of expertise, or to sign up for a public speaking class or a club like Toastmasters so you can practice frequently.
If you’re an introvert, you may never have considered public speaking — and even if you have, it might sound like the last thing you want to try. But the benefits can be enormous, from enhancing your personal brand and professional stature to possibly one day earning money from your talks.
The biggest advantage for introverts is that it frees us from the necessity of approaching strangers and making banal and uncomfortable small talk. By becoming the speaker — instead of just another attendee — we can leverage our introversion to ensure others come to us.