Take the 3/30 Challenge to improve your public speaking skills

People want to improve their speaking skills so they can influence, persuade, and win. But very few want to put in the time to improve this skill. As you know, there are no short cuts to developing and mastering any skills. Ben Hogan, a great American professional golfer, when asked what was his secret to success in golf? He would point to the ground and say, "it's all in the dirt." He meant that unless you engage in deliberate practice in pounding many golf balls every day, you are not going to improve your game.

This applies to speaking skills. My "hoganese" answer to this is "It's all in the videos." I will show you what you can do in the next thirty days to set yourself apart from the rest in improving your speaking skills. It will be hard in the beginning, but after thirty days, you will be able to speak to anyone, anytime, anywhere. Are you ready to improve this skill?

What is the 30-Day Challenge?
You will record a three-minute video on any topics for 30 straight days. It is that simple. Unfortunately, I can't even get people to record even one three-minute speech. I have found when I talk to the audience, and I ask how many will record one three-minute speech, all the hands typically go up. But do you know what percentage actually do it? Just one percent. That's right. Even with smartphone cameras, it is tough for people to record a simple three-minute speech.

For example, I recently coached a job candidate. I asked him if he can put together a 3-minute speech on why someone should talk to him about the value he can bring to a company. He said it should be easy since all he had to do was record it on his iPhone. I told him about the low percentage of people who actually follow through. He said he will definitely do it. Since I didn't get his video the next day, I sent him a script to make it easier. A week has gone by, and I still have not received his three-minute video. So as you can see, it looks simple, but it id very hard in practice. 

Why take the 30-Day Challenge?
Here are some of the benefits of taking this Challenge:

• Test your commitment
• Build confidence
• Turn speaking into a habit
• Reduce fear of speaking
• Organize thought quickly, clearly and crisply
• Learn to Finish
• Establish Baseline
• Identify areas of improvement
• Enjoy Speaking

What process to use to record a three-minute speech?
I used the following process when I recorded my speeches. I spent no more than one hour on each speech.  

• Quick Outline with one main message
• Audio record using the free-speaking method, meaning finish recording your thoughts (Optional if you don't have access to a video camera)
• Video record using the free-speaking method, so you have all your ideas on the video
• Review it and make appropriate changes
• First video recording
• Review, refine and re-record (if necessary)
• Review, refine and re-record (if necessary)
• Stop 

You don't want to do more than three takes. After the third one, you should move to the next speech. Because of this constraint, I was not looking for perfection, but a speech that was good enough. And I feel by the third take, it should approach good enough state. As you will see, some of the speeches are good, some are ok, and some are not good. But I am fine with that since even a professional singer can't always record a hit. And a hit, after all, is determined by the audience.

Note, you can always go back and redo a speech after you finish the 3/30 Challenge or make it unlisted or private on YouTube.  

Examples of 30 speeches from the 30-Day Challenge
Here are my 30+ speeches:
Intro Speech:
Title: The 3/30 Challenge to Improve Your Speaking Skills
Link: https://youtu.be/ebijyw9CdoI

Speech 1:
Title: Who should you NOT listen to in order to become an excellent speaker?
Link: https://youtu.be/n1nhf8p-lfw

Speech 2:
Title: How do you answer 'what do you do' question?
Link: https://youtu.be/OFg5rrZ2xOQ

Speech 3:
Title: Lesson learned from "The Peanuts" Movie
Link: https://youtu.be/KS4xjI0nQ8E

Speech 4:
Title: Networking Tip for Professionals
Link: https://youtu.be/ac3p5RXUDo8

Speech 5:
Title: Networking Tip for Amateurs
Link: https://youtu.be/UKHyspL-IB0

Speech 6:
Title: Don't purchase anything you are not going to use right away
Link: https://youtu.be/BpKCQDWrO7U

Speech 7:
Title: Secret to Donald Trump's success with the media
Link: https://youtu.be/HEb-qZ929PU

Speech 8:
Title: Analysis of a scene from the movie Godfather II -- Part 1
Link: https://youtu.be/C1mO-b6GdxM

Speech 9:
Title: Analysis of a scene from the movie Godfather II -- Part 2
Link: https://youtu.be/rb5_xBr0opY

Speech 10:
Title: Analysis of a scene from the movie Godfather II -- part 3
Link:  https://youtu.be/gVjEMz-L4Hw

Speech 11:
Title: Giving attribution in a speech
Link: https://youtu.be/AJvLvxnvWAg​

Speech 12:
Title: Why you don't want to give a flawless speech?
Link: https://youtu.be/khx2GLKhWI8

Speech 13:
Title: How a three-minute speech can save you time, money and energy?
Link: https://youtu.be/yFwQ6hgxfrs

Speech 14:
Title: Interview Tip for Amateurs: What if the key decision maker can't meet with you?
Link: https://youtu.be/enjlAPfd2ew

Speech 15:
Title: Interview Tip for Pros: What if the key decision maker can't meet with you?
Link: https://youtu.be/LjlNWqHe8Hw​
Speech 16:
Title: Difference between a solopreneur versus an employee
Link: https://youtu.be/xFlKI-gsDzo

Speech 17:
Title: The 60/30/10 Principle of Sales
Link: https://youtu.be/KqaAZLTLR40

Speech 18:
Title: Importance of coaching
Link: https://youtu.be/5hj3SFyW60o

Speech 19:
Title: How Under Armour motivated my son to exercise?
Link: https://youtu.be/LmBNF0Si5Ag

Speech 20:
Title: When did Barack Obama know he could be the president in 2008?
Link: https://youtu.be/8SVa6A5Re94

Speech 21:
Title: Job Interview Tip: Resume candidate vs. Potential candidate: Whom do you hire?
Link: https://youtu.be/SDm2BNlU1Yo

Speech 22:
Title: Job Interview Tip: Are you a star candidate or a sucker candidate?
Link: https://youtu.be/isS4jDNiPeo

Speech 23:
Title: How important is motivation to your success?
Link: https://youtu.be/7HQipWsxrNo

Speech 24:
Title: Why I am still not a cool dad?
Link: https://youtu.be/LhOf5Iqqrvk

Speech 25:
Title: How to turn a ten dollar speech into a million dollar speech?
Link: https://youtu.be/u1cAuSXhcOE

Speech 26:
Title: What is the most important question you must ask a hiring manager?
Link: https://youtu.be/LplG_JJBI0c

Speech 27:
Title: Donald Trump is very transparent if you read "The Art of the Deal"
Link: https://youtu.be/WvKZdvCVg7U

Speech 28:
Title: Can creativity and productivity co-exist in companies?
Link: https://youtu.be/CJTYpL0UPiU

Speech 29:
Title: How did Gandhi become the "Mahatma"?
Link: https://youtu.be/duKDq7-WuhY

Speech 30:
Title: How to come up with catchy phrase for your speech?
Link: https://youtu.be/q00Kgd32h1k

Speech 31:
Title: What insight helped Gandhi helped gain India its independence?
Link: https://youtu.be/NauQvXmiIN4

I hope you take this Challenge because I feel it will help you become a better speaker than you were before the Challenge.
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Good Luck! 
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Jay Oza is an author, speaker, executive coach.  He makes people thrive on high stakes stage whether it's for a job interview, a sales presentation or a high-stakes speech. He is the author of a practical  book Winning Speech Moments: How to Achieve Your Objective with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere. You can get this book on Amazon for 99 cents for limited time. Please download the free speech checklist that you can use to help you create a winning speech for any situation.

Please contact him if you would like to have a two 75 minute coaching session on job interviewing or high-stakes speaking. If you are interested in inviting him to give a talk on job Interviewing or high-stakes speaking. You can reach him at [email protected].

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