DEAR HARRIETTE: I’ve always admired public speakers. I have a desire to sit on a panel and share my thoughts, but a part of me struggles with courage, and another part of me questions the authenticity of this desire. Is it OK to aspire to be a speaker, or is that a role that should be granted to someone based on their professional or academic experiences? -- Public Speaker
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DEAR PUBLIC SPEAKER: All kinds of people become public speakers. Ask yourself why this is a goal for you and what you believe you have to offer an audience if you were to take on that role.
I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was 12 years old. I used to write poetry and stuff it into shoeboxes in the back of my closet when I was a child. It took me 20 years before I published my first book, but I kept at it, fine-tuned my craft, worked in media, built a knowledge base on which to write -- and then I did it. Because I had that knowledge base and experience through my work as a magazine editor, opportunities arose naturally for me to speak publicly. Over time, I built up that part of my work, and now I speak to audiences regularly.
The same can happen for you. Choose a topic you love. Become an expert at it. Practice talking about your passion. Volunteer to speak to small groups about that topic. Over time, people will begin to trust that yours is a voice they want to hear.