8 Questions To Ask Before Hiring An Executive Speech Coach

By Author: Allen Jackson
Total Articles: 32
Comment this article

Fear of public speaking is a kind of confession today. It is a confession that gets better only with training. However, some do not like asking for help and strive hard before succumbing to a professional coach. But confessing is a smart choice. For example, athletes cannot do without a personal trainer. These trainers know the athletes weak and strong points. When it comes to the professional front, hiring an executive speech coach has become a must.

They are invaluable especially when you find yourself in the crossroad of public speaking. You require such a coach for delivering a high-end presentation in an internal meeting or pitch an idea to a potential client or a speech that reaches to the teams in the company or even you. Before delivering a speech to your company’s team members, ask questions from their perspective:

• Can they trust you?
• Can you connect with the listeners in an informative and precise way?
• Have I built a strong case?
• Did I present my message in a concise, thoughtful, and energetic manner?

If you feel you lacked in any of the above aspects, hire an executive speech coach immediately. Of course, you should be comfortable with the person you hire. Nevertheless, before hiring a coach, ask these questions:

1) Every executive coach specializes in specific areas such as intellectual, psychological, physical, and some other dimensions. Ask questions like Who they are? What are your requirements? How do they work?
2) Are they an expert in the area that you are focusing on? For example, you may want to better your speaking voice. In that case, you would have to hire a speech coach who is experienced as a voice instructor.
3) An executive speech coach should help you articulate the key message, to think strategically, or find words that form subtle but important points.
4) Find an executive who can further enhance your career flexibly. So, if you have already walked from A to B, hunt some who will take you from L to M to O
5) Ask about their techniques. Do they work based on a framework? The methodologies include the Transtheoretical Model, Motivational Interviewing, or Brain-based Learning.
6) Can your executive speech coach offer negative feedback positively? Harsh words can make you go against them and prove them ineffective
7) Executive coaches should submit overall changes concerning verbal, vocal, and visual. Very few are experienced in all three spheres
8) Ask the coach if they have a background or education in rhetoric? It is the DNA of every trained public speaker. Rhetoric is the art and science of influencing others through the use of effective language

Public speaking is not male-dominated. Today you can find the best female motivational speakers walking head-to-head with the men.