I have been speaking professionally in front of thousands of people for over 15 years. To say that I had to take a formal schooling to develop my skill is an outright lie. No, I didn’t go to any school for public speaking. And no, I didn’t give in to the tempting offer of companies, which promise to make me a great public speaker in one day or two.

While it seems that I’m discouraging you from enrolling in a public speaking training course, I am really not. I just want you to exercise caution in choosing a program that serves your best intention.

How does one become a public speaker? There are a lot of answers to this. But my experience can tell you it is consistent practice that can lead you to mastery of the public speaking craft. But it’s not skills all the way. If the schools or training programs you’re referring to only cover skills development, they don’t have to look very far to realize there are skillful speakers but without substance, depth, and sense. You don’t become a great public speaker because you can. Just because you can open your mouth, utter words and stand confidently in front of an audience, it doesn’t mean you’re great at what you do. I’ve met hundreds of speakers who can speak but are not listened to. Our ability to speak alone doesn’t inspire the world. It takes more than that to make an impact.

Perhaps this is the same inspiration that got me to put up The Public Speaking Institute (TPSI) (www.thepublicspeakinginstitute.com), a remote learning platform that exclusively issues the Certified Public Speaker designation. This is an institute driven by passion to serve. Our vision is to produce world-class public speakers along with our mission to make public speaking easier to learn and fun to develop. We put this up because we believe we can have a better world through responsible public speakers. And that’s the key: being responsible.

The truth is people believe what public speakers say most of the time. Given the authority when one holds a microphone and takes the stage, some are not aware of the responsibility and accountability that go with every word we say. Without taking full responsibility for the public speaking craft is something our program tries to solve. We must be fully aware of the impact we have on people.

And because it’s not all about skills, I designed a public speaking framework, which students in our institute are certified on. We call it Luna Public Speaking Framework. It suggests that there are three areas that every public speaker must work on to become a remarkably amazing speaker: Character, Content and Competency. These areas are supported by Story, Strategy and Style.

When I started my public speaking career, the first rookie mistake I made was I didn’t embrace who I was. In fact, I didn’t recognize my role. Of course, it happens in many cases when we are just compelled to speak, but that’s beside the point. When presenting in public has become part of what you do, you must embrace your character, create original content and develop your competency.

Public speaking isn’t for everybody. Although I bet in one way or another, everyone has spoken in front of a group of people. Whatever that experience has made you believe — whether you fall in love with public speaking or you hate it —the world needs more than just talking people. They need responsible public speakers. Better yet, they need certified public speakers.

On March 8, we are embarking on a new journey to make our world better by producing better public speakers. We welcome our first batch of Certified Public Speakers-candidates, who will have to pass the certification program that runs 720 learning minutes covering 12 important subjects in this public speaking training course.

If you find this approach and methodology more compelling than any other public speaking training courses in the Philippine market today, The Public Speaking Institute is more than happy to take you in.