Awkwardly, Adolf Hitler remains an excellent example of a highly accomplished orator. When citing him, one must dance through all manner of linguistic hoops, dishing out softeners like, 'Overlooking, for just a moment, his towering and almost unparalleled legacy of evil and genocide...'
I've long contended that excellent public speaking skills can account for more than half of your total impact in becoming a leading force. It matters greatly that you can stand in front of an audience, camera, or boardroom, and move hearts and minds.
To that end, I have a recommendation for you, but the recommendation is a tad Hitlerian. I'd like you to watch 'The Wolf of Wall Street.' However, I must now hedge that recommendation with a squadron of cautionary clauses: 'Please ignore the language; please ignore the hardcore sex and nudity; please ignore the utter and unrelenting moral depravity liberally served from start to finish,' and so forth.
I'd like you to watch the public speaking scenes. Specifically, look out for the one in which DiCaprio's character (based on a real person) 'sells' the trendy shoemaker to his own staff. It is phenomenal.
Public speaking is so much more than the delivery of facts to a crowd. It is leadership. It is branding. It is perception and persuasion. Done well, it is an event to be remembered. As the Hitlers and Churchills of the world demonstrated, you can use it to attempt to conquer the world, or equally, to save it.
This week, suspend your morals and watch the movie. There's a reason DiCaprio was up for his Oscar for that particular one, and the insights into human persuasion through public speaking are fascinating.
Can you rally a crowd if called upon? Are you able to tap into the psyche of an audience and change their thinking? If you can go beyond merely disseminating facts, and master moving hearts and minds, you can own your industry (albeit preferably without serving jail-time).