How to Use Public Speaking to Level-Up Your Business with Steve Preda.

Welcome to Public Speaking with Peter George. Do you want to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then stay tuned as Peter and his guests discuss public speaking tips, techniques, and tactics that help you increase your impact, influence, and income.

Are you a consultant, coach, or professional who has thought about using public speaking to increase your exposure and attract more clients? If so, you’ve probably wondered where to start and how to do it well. In this episode, Steve Preda shares exactly how he used speaking to build his consulting business — and how you can do the same.

A Gradual Start

Steve’s path to public speaking was neither dramatic nor deliberate at first. Around the year 2000, while running a business in Hungary, he would occasionally be asked to speak to college groups on topics he was passionate about. He found it easy to talk about things he genuinely cared about — and that passion, he says, helps you deliver a message in a compelling way. After moving to the U.S. and transitioning to coaching, he realized that growing his business meant developing his own content, writing his own book, and getting that content in front of people. The best way to do that: speak to groups. His first step was calling a fellow Vistage chair and asking to be invited to speak.

How He Learned and Improved

Steve’s first talk — delivered to his own peer group — was, by his own admission, a total bomb. But he kept going, getting a little better each time. He invested in resources including Michael Port’s Book Yourself Solid and a Dan Kennedy audio series on speaking from the stage. He built a newsletter, developed a signature talk around his expertise, and practiced consistently. The progress was gradual — but it compounded.

Speaking as a Business-Building Tool

For consultants and coaches, Steve ranks speaking near the top of all prospect-attracting strategies — provided you’re in front of the right audience. In his early days, he deliberately spoke to Rotary clubs and Lions clubs that weren’t his ideal prospects. The stakes were low, which meant he could practice and improve without embarrassing himself in front of real buyers. By the time he was standing in front of Vistage groups full of business owners, he was ready. From those talks, he converted roughly one new client per engagement — an extraordinary return on time invested.

What to Do in Front of Your Target Audience

Steve’s advice for consultants speaking to prospective clients: give all the value you possibly can, but tailor it to the audience. Customize your stories and your content. Inspire them. And don’t hold back out of fear that you’re giving away too much. Most people can’t implement everything you share on their own — and the busiest, most successful ones will seek out the person who just educated them. If your style appeals to them and you come across as trustworthy, knowledgeable, and genuinely helpful, they’ll choose you over someone they’ve never met.

You can find Steve and his book Buyable: Your Guide to Building a Self-Managing, Fast-Growing, and High-Profit Business on Amazon and at stevepreda.com.

Thank you for listening to another episode of Public Speaking with Peter George. Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. Are you ready to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then visit petergeorgepublicspeaking.com and let’s make it happen. I’ll see you next time.