This article is NOT going to talk about stuff like how to conquer stage fright and fear of public speaking, or how to structure your presentation, or how to deliver your speech, or any of that kind of stuff.

Not that that stuff isn't important - it is - and I cover that in great detail in other articles on this site.

This article is about saving you wasted time and energy, and about getting your head straight - and if you take this seriously, this article might just save you years of stumbling around and losing a lot of money.

Speaking in public is something many people dread, and that many people end up being forced to do, or decide they want to do, and then they typically go looking for help online or looking for speaking organizations to guide them.

Here's the thing: as a public speaking training expert, I'm constantly watching what's going on in my industry.

I read the industry newsletters and the public speaking blogs & Ezines.

I read all the press releases from well-known speaking organizations.

And so on... but my point is this: there is no shortage of very bad advice out there for speakers, especially up-and-coming speakers, or people who want to use speaking as a marketing tool.

It's like vultures circling - they want you spending money on things you don't need to buy, they want you to learn outdated, ineffective speaking techniques, and they want you to go down a path that will NOT lead you to where you hoped to go.

Not that those or other organizations are totally without value - they do have their place, and they're not all bad.

However, for the most part, if you just want to get results with public speaking, doing seminars, doing workshops, doing trainings and classes... the reality is you're really not going to get the information you really want.

And it's totally understandable that people, maybe you, would turn to an established and actually respectable speaking organization - after all, they're all about the speaking business, right?

Right and wrong.

They are mostly about a speaking business model that is fairly well outdated and behind the times.

They also concentrate on skills and techniques that, while certainly helpful, are not the practical essentials you need to get the results you really want.

Plus, ALL organizations tend to be self-serving - they need membership fees to survive and that's a financial reality not to be ignored.

Another tree not worth barking-up is "certifications and designations" or awards - titles like "world champion of speaking" or an alphabet-soup of letters after your name simply will not get you results like new customers, new clients or patients, new business or new leads.

And it certainly won't get you more income or more sales of your product or service.

The path most speaking organizations will have you embark upon is what I call "The Path Of The Great Speaker".

The path my students take is what I call "The Path Of The Speaker That Gets RESULTS".

The "Great Speaker" path is mostly about ego - standing ovations and such.

While I never get tired of applause, standing ovations, and positive feedback from my speaking, none of that will put food on my table or pay for my housing costs!

If you have someone to support you financially, then the path of the great speaker is just fine.

But if you want to get results - measurable results - such as more business, more sales, fast effective marketing of your product or service, easy branding for you or your company, and especially more money in the bank, then I strongly urge you to not take the path of the great speaker.

So before you create a presentation, before you think about resources to help you get to where you want to go, before you do a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g about speaking in public, you need to know exactly what you're trying to accomplish with speaking or presenting, and also what resources are really going to help you achieve that outcome.

Because some seemingly "great resources" will have you barking up the entirely wrong tree.

Take this seriously, and you can avoid years of wasted time stumbling around, and thousands of dollars wasted on resources that don't get you to where you want to go... not to mention the money you'll lose by not starting on the right path in the first place.

More on speaking in public and getting results like making money, marketing, generating and converting leads, and other fun stuff::