Public Speaking like Tiger
Filed under: Become a Speaker, Public Speaking, public speaking jobs
Many people wonder how Tiger Woods got to be the best golfer in the world at such a young age.
Do you have a huge goal for your public speaking career? Perhaps Tiger’s secret lies partially in a decision he made very early in his career to study and learn from the best in his sport. He chose to learn from both those playing against him and those who played before him. Tiger already knew at a tender age what, frankly, many people never learn:
Every man I meet is my superior in some way; in that I learn from him.
Tiger’s strategy was to pick fifty public golfers, fifty of the greatest, study them and try to extract the very best parts of each of their games, and incorporate them into his own. His goal was to create one super player…and for all intents and purposes, he’s done just that!
In my public speaking job, I have tried to do the same. This process began about thirty years ago. I began seriously listening to other speakers by whom I was captivated. I studied what I thought each did exceptionally well, picked out parts of their “games,” and incorporated them into my own speaking skills. I strongly urge each of you to do the same.
Richard Rogers was a preacher who lived in Lubbock, Texas. I first heard him as a public speaker in 1977, and he’s certainly one of the best public speakers I’ve ever heard. There’s no doubt that his “best game” is his story-telling prowess. Absolutely no one, in my opinion, could breathe life into a story like Richard. My ability to tell a story was revolutionized by Richard Rogers. I called Richard one time while I was living in Boston, and asked him if I could possibly fly into Lubbock, Texas, just to spend some time with him to learn a little bit about how to tell a story. It would have been worthwhile for me to make the trip for one hour of his time. He agreed and invited me to his home and shadowed Richard for much of the weekend. I returned to Boston on Sunday evening with some newly hatched skills for one part of my speaking that would forever be changed. Tiger had learned from Watson the secrets of putting, and Richard had just taught me the secrets of captivating stories! Be a Learner and you can achieve great success in your public speaking job.