Four Speaking Lessons That Changed Warren Buffet’s Life

Warren Buffet, in an Inc Magazine article, said “The one easy way to become worth 50 percent more than you are now — at least — is to hone your communication skills — both written and verbal.” He believes that public speaking is the fundamental skill to succeed in business.

What most people do not know is that Warren Buffet was terrified to speak, so much so, that he would throw up before every speech. He was even too shy to ask the woman of his dreams to marry him. Having an astute business mind, he realized that he needed to learn to get over his fears and learn to confidently speak in public.

So, at 19 years of age, Warren Buffet signed up for a Dale Carnegie course to learn how to speak. He learned, he graduated, and he asked his dream girl for her hand in marriage! Of all the degrees that Warren Buffet has, the only diploma he displays in his office is the graduation certificate from that public speaking class.

What are those 4 lessons?

1) Learn as much as you can. Warren Buffet is a life-long learner. He believes that the more you learn, that better your life will become. “Talk about something that you know and know that you know,” Carnegie wrote. “Don’t spend ten minutes or ten hours preparing a talk: Spend ten weeks or ten months. Better still, spend ten years.” We have never arrived…it’s a life-long journey.

2) Talk about your own experiences. Warren Buffet often uses antidotes from his own career and life to illustrate his talks. “Carry a sheet of paper with you for a few weeks and write down, as you think of them, all the subjects that you are prepared to talk about through experience,” Carnegie suggested. Also write down things like your biggest regret, what you did or didn’t like in school and lessons you learned so far from your failures and your successes.

3) Jot down notes, don’t type out your speech. If you watch Buffett speak, he rarely looks at a piece of paper. One of Carnegie’s core principles is that a good speech is never typed up beforehand. Instead, Carnegie recommended referring to brief notes, rather then reading your speech.
“When you stand up to talk, you will probably find yourself trying to remember what you wrote,” he wrote. “That will keep you from speaking naturally and with sparkle.”
4) Be excited about your topic. Smiling, exuding energy and confidence makes a big difference. Buffet became excited about investing, money and building success very early in life. His enthusiasm continues today. As Carnegie put it, “Even people with only mediocre speaking ability may make superb talks if they will speak about something that has deeply stirred them.”

If you experience what Warren Buffet did, join the safe, supportive Engaging Speakers community, where you’re among friends who will support you every step of the way.

Gail Brown, Founder of Engaging Speakers, gail@engagingspeakers.com