One Size Doesn’t Fit All – Why Businesses Are Wasting Millions on Public-Speaking Training

By Dr Alexander McWilliam, founder and managing director of public-speaking training consultancy Improv4Business

Companies are happy to spend a great deal of money trying to turn their employees into better talkers. HR departments and senior leaders know the value of people becoming more confident in making speeches and presentations in the workplace.

It’s not surprising, then, that the global public-speaking-training market was worth $6.8 billion, last year, and is expected to grow to $13.2 billion by 2034.

But much of this investment is misplaced. Whether it’s a group coaching session or an e-learning course, if the advice isn’t tailored to an employee’s needs and goals, it’s unlikely to have much lasting effect or a strong ROI.

Bringing together a group of managers or a sales department for training is usually enjoyable for everyone involved. Participants will probably pick up useful tips about breathing, say, or projection, which will help to some extent when next addressing staff or clients. But if it doesn’t address their specific aims, anxieties and ability levels, it’s like football coaching that shows goalkeepers how to kick, but not how to catch.

Starting with an assessment

Improv4Business worked recently with a client in the aviation sector. We achieved lasting results for its senior leadership team by assessing each member before our workshops, to understand their key strengths and weaknesses. We then tailored the coaching accordingly. The assessment also provides a baseline against which progress can be measured

Some people need help with diction and pitch range. Others need work on breathing or pacing. Some people want support with effective visuals for presentations, or speech content and wording. 

Generic training, by contrast, means people can spend too much time practising things they already do well and too little on the areas where they struggle.

Pitching the challenge correctly

Confidence levels within a group often vary widely, too. A single approach might alienate some participants, while being too easy for others. We aim to keep people in what psychologists call “zone of proximal development”, the sweet spot where they can grow the most.

Many employees of an IT-sector client were happy to take on demanding exercises, while several needed more support. But this tailored approach meant that people didn’t walk away thinking “I hated that, they pushed me too hard”.

A common misstep by speaking trainers is to make everyone give a short presentation at the start of a session and film it. For some people (especially those with high anxiety), this is overwhelming and does more harm than good. Being recorded before any coaching has begun can confirm a nervous speaker’s worst fears – in their mind, at least – and make them less willing to engage for the rest of the day.

Corporate speaking is a discipline of its own

Another problem with generic speaking training is that it is often designed for everyone from charity fundraisers to academics or public servants. But speaking in a corporate environment, be it a company-wide address to rally staff through change, an AGM or a presentation to shareholders, demands particular skills and comes with its own constraints.

 You may need to take account of legal considerations or have to try making financial data engaging. You must sound authentic while speaking with a corporate voice. And in a senior leadership role, you must be mindful that everything you say is being scrutinised by people who know it could affect their jobs. For many corporate leaders, anti-anxiety or confidence-boosting techniques need to be a central part of their coaching.

Assessment matters here, too. A suitable evaluation for corporate trainees should measure how well they communicate with a business audience, whereas most public-speaking exams lack relevant focus.

Looking beyond the obvious

Sometimes, an assessment or training session uncovers hidden reasons for a lack of confidence that have little to do with technique. Someone may fear speaking in front of their boss, because they are unapproachable. If speaking at team meetings is difficult, that could be down to poor team cohesion. In that case, do managers need to organise a team away day to complement the speaking coaching?

Perhaps most importantly, employees tend to enjoy personalised coaching more and more from it, than one-size-fits-all sessions. The tailored focus means they can see real improvement, afterwards. They may no longer be talking too fast, or their messaging may have become clearer and simpler. Good training providers will measure that progress, and staff can return a year later to hone their skills further.

There is no doubt that speaking training can transform careers and businesses. I’ve seen it many times with my clients. But it must start with the individual. Assess first, tailor the content, and measure progress afterwards. Otherwise, company leaders risk spending many thousands of pounds on sessions that feel great on the day but, ultimately, change very little.

About the Author

Dr Alexander McWilliam is founder and managing director of Improv4Business. It provides presentation and speaking training, including assessments, executive coaching, team sessions and bespoke programmes, primarily for B2B clients. He has also created the Public Speaking Threats Inventory ® a tool that gives people tailored insights into what holds them back.