We always think that our 131 speech class is a one and done thing. It’ll never actually help us in our careers, right? What is the point of taking this class, I’m never going to actually have to give a speech like this except for in this class!! This mentoring that I’m doing is really just a resume builder, it won’t actually be something I can do in real life!
This summer… those thoughts were proven wrong.
I stumbled across a text after a class last semester from an elementary school friend that I hadn’t talked to in years. She said, “Hey, Erin! Text me when you can I have an important thing to ask you.” Never did I think that reconnecting with an old friend would lead me to an internship with a sales consulting and talent management firm, Neuberger and Company.
Going into this internship, I realized that the biggest reason why I got hired was because I had experience in giving speeches. I had clear speech experience, along with mentoring experience. And what is the one thing that they do at Neuberger? Train and coach. A technical and fancy way of saying: teaching and giving speeches. Neuberger focuses on sales training and coaching, which I got to observe every Tuesday morning in their Foundations and Mastery training programs. The consultant always created an outline beforehand and would have to speak and teach for 4 hours. This is what their life is like. Who thought that you could actually have a job where all you do is professionally teach business owners how to grow their business?
My love for education and speech immediately formed together and I realized how special this place was. I learned the importance of being a good communicator, of being able to produce and write an effective outline, of designing a visually pleasing PowerPoint, of having practice and a process around speech making and giving, of the importance of asking for help and getting criticism from your peers/colleagues to improve yourself and your speech, of the realities of speech anxiety and the physical and mental wear and tear it can have on a person, and so much more. While Neuberger means so much more to me than speech giving and making, I quickly realized how truly important it is to learn how to give a good speech and be prepared. We tend to think that you don’t have to know how to make and give a speech in order to be successful in your career, but that is completely untrue, specifically for people looking to work in sales, business management, consulting, business development, amongst a multitude of other things. Most everyone will encounter a sales situation at one point in their life, which means they must be able to effectively and precisely present and close that sale and deal. And what does that involve? Oh, right… giving a speech!
My main purpose here is to tell from a firsthand experience that taking that 131 speech class seriously will do nothing but progress you forward, give you more serious experience, and turn you into a highly desirable candidate. And asking for help in that process will help you even more! Think of the mentors at the Public Communication Center as your colleagues in a work setting– we are here to listen, give advice, and make you the best you can possibly be. Being able to attend networking events, listen to consultants give training and coaching tips, and talk to business owners is something that has expanded the way I think about giving presentations and speeches. That can literally be my career! Sometimes what you learn in class may actually be important one day… who would’ve thought!
Me at the Baltimore Business Journal’s Biz Mix networking event, where I got to talk to multiple business owners and sales people about Neuberger & Company!
If you want to learn more about my experience at Neuberger, need speech help, or want to talk about the importance of effective communication and speech organization and delivery, make an appointment with me at https://towson.mywconline.com/ or check out ways to make an appointment at the PCC under the Contact Us tab!