The Importance of Public Speaking as a Nurse

Nursing and public speaking? You may not realize it, but nursing and public speaking go hand in hand. 

Had you told me years ago I would be called to speak on Nurse Blake’s cruise regarding nurse entrepreneurship, I wouldn’t have believed it. I was not a public speaker. However, I had been practicing at senior centers and assisted living facilities for years and didn’t even know it. I was accustomed to giving presentations to seniors related to the foot care services my company, Everyday Divinity delivered. When the call came through from the Nurse Blake team, I did what every entrepreneur does … I jumped in with both feet and went for it. The details I would figure out later.

Speaking plays a vital role in business ownership. If the thought of public speaking terrifies you, don’t worry. You have been practicing already without knowing it. Every day you are working in the field of healthcare, you are public speaking to patients, families, and ancillary departments. Our day-to-day tasks as a nurse working in those traditional roles are teaching us so much more that we can take these skills beyond the bedside. One of those skills is public speaking, and we don't even realize how these tasks are carried over into the business developed to help our businesses.

Public speaking is an important skill that can help you succeed in your business. It can give you the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and showcase your knowledge in front of others. It can also help you build strong relationships with colleagues and customers, as well as make a good impression. 

Public speaking also enables you to share ideas and create a sense of community amongst those in attendance. This is important because it can also help you build relationships. It’s a way for the audience to get to know you, therefore establishing credibility and trust with your audience, which can be beneficial when it comes to selling products or services. 

In addition, public speaking allows you to present yourself in a professional manner and can even help boost your confidence. Overall public speaking is an invaluable tool that can help you elevate business.

Here are some tips to elevate your public speaking skills:

• Prepare and practice your speech daily. I had recorded my speech on my phone and would walk the top deck of the cruise ship listening to it over and over. 

• Be flexible. Don’t get flustered if something goes wrong with your speech. My presentation for the cruise had me rolling in on roller-skates to Xanadu (this was a party cruise to say the least). When the time came, the music wouldn’t download. No worries! I had the song downloaded to my phone. We hit play and set it up next to the microphone. Just another example of on-the-fly nursing interventions. 

• Using stories in your speech can be a great way to fill your time while creating connection to your audience.  It also can create engagement with your audience. If your audience feels the same convictions as you over a particular topic, they feel a connection to you. This in turn, creates a relationship with your audience. 

The more prepared you are for the speaking engagement, the more confident you will feel and the more relaxed you will appear (fake it till you make it). Just remember your audience does not know if this is your first time speaking or your 50th. 

The important thing is to just be you!