Kari Karlsbjerg's "Canadian Employment Culture" column reports every Wednesday (local time) in the Korea IT Times. Today's article is the fourth story of 'Month Eight'
1. Soft Skills More Important Than Ever
2. People Skills
3. Culture Complicates Conflict
4. All Speaking is Public Speaking
Presentation Skills
Feelings of anxiety and nervousness about public speaking are universal. Nevertheless, public speaking and presentation skills are still vitally important for career progression and development. Fortunately, most presentations in the workplace do not require speaking to a large crowded auditorium. Instead, IT professionals today need to be prepared to give a wide range of presentations -from one-on-one conversations to department meetings. Whatever the size of the audience, the ability to convincingly articulate your ideas to others is key. Even if your ideas are great, no one will be able to appreciate them if you cannot convey them effectively.
Making the effort to develop effective public speaking skills will help all aspects of your working life. You will learn to speak up in meetings, to promote your ideas, and to present yourself as a professional. Speaking skills can also help you excel in job interviews. When called upon to say a few words at a moment's notice at a work lunch, awards ceremony, or other special occasions, you will be ready.
Writing and practicing speeches and presentations also help strengthen your overall communication skills. When writing a speech, you must think carefully about the best structure, persuasive points, speech rate and pacing so that your message will be clearly communicated. This discipline and practice of organizing your words to give the best impact will improve your communication efficacy in other areas of your life too. Developing effective presentations also forces you to use a wider range of precise English vocabulary and avoid the habitual filler words used in everyday conversation. Public speaking focuses you to communicate ideas in an organized and coherent manner, which ultimately will benefit you in both your personal and work life.
Fortunately, presentation and public speaking skills can be learned and developed. There are so many books, videos, and online courses available to help improve public speaking skills. However, there is nothing better than learning public speaking in a supportive group environment like that provided by Toastmasters International. Toastmasters has been around since 1924. Over 4 million people have completed Toastmasters training in 16,000 clubs in over 142 countries. More than 3,000 major corporations and institutions support in house clubs (including Apple and Microsoft). Major corporations know the value of encouraging their employees to be better speakers and communicators. Toastmasters has a proven record of improving the speaking skills and confidence of millions of people through their informative program combining both impromptu and prepared speech practice.
For Korean IT professionals working in North America who are interested in meeting new people, Toastmasters also gives you the opportunity to meet local people in a safe, supportive, and encouraging environment at the club meetings.
This serial article is written by Kari Karlsbjerg , author of "Everyday Vancouver." Elaine Chu, co-author of "Everyday Vancouver" provides translation services in Korean. "Everyday Vancouver" is a must-read bilingual book for immigrants from Korea who are interested in Vancouver culture, or plan to study or get a job in Canada. Kari Karlsbjerg is currently a college instructor, and Elaine Chu is a Korean student representative at the Delta City Office of Education, helping their career in college. The book can be purchased from Amazon.
