Early in her career, Agatha Christie didn’t see herself as a writer.
She wrote stories while working as a nurse. Her first novel was rejected over and over. But she kept writing. Book after book, she found her voice.
Public speaking works the same way.
I often hear people say, “I’m not a public speaker,” as if it’s a special title handed out at some invitation-only ceremony – robes, handshakes, the works.
But there’s no club. No membership required.
Public speaking occurs in team meetings, client calls, classroom discussions and everyday conversations, where your ideas reach an audience.
The philosopher Will Durant, interpreting Aristotle, wrote: “We are what we repeatedly do.”
If you speak regularly – at any scale – you are a public speaker. You don’t need a TED Talk to get started. You don’t need permission or a big stage. The identity follows the habit – not the other way around.
Timeless Presenter, my new book on the principles of communication that never expire, will be released soon.
If you’d like to be notified when it’s out, you can join the early access list here.