Growing up, Arthur Goldstuck was a very shy child, so he knew he had to take every opportunity to stand up in front of an audience to overcome his shyness. This learning he says he has taken into every aspect of his life and takes every public speaking opportunity that comes his wat.
His professional speaking career started approximately 10 years after the release of his first book. As he became a professional speaker, he says he discovered that the speaker community was very supportive and joined the PSA South Africa, where he personally enjoyed and learnt from a key network of supporting co-speakers during these years.
Being part of a network of speakers opens up many opportunities for collaboration. Prior the Covid-19 lockdown, Arthur co-authored a book with Nikki Bush called Tech Savvy Parenting and says through his involvement with the PSA South Africa has taken the role of an activist in the speaker community.
Arthur see’s the current ‘Coronavirus’ landscape as a time for many new opportunities within the speaking profession and the industry. Although adjusting may not have been easy for everyone, he notes that if you were able to plug yourself into the needs of the corporate world you would now find yourself ahead in your business.
In fact, he says 2020 was the busiest time of his career and that his role in the PSA South Africa, changed to more than sharing an experience of speaking virtually, but also to one where he could guide people and lay down the ground rules of virtual speaking.
One of the biggest learnings he shares with other speakers is that you are being paid for your expertise and although events are now virtual, you shouldn’t have to discount your rate for offering the same service.
Another key lesson he has passed on this last year is that, in a time of having to rely on tech to give your talks, you cannot let the tech dominate your entire demeanour. If you have too many gadgets it can be overwhelming, and it will have control. He says it is better to strip it down if you can get away with it but try to avoid over complicating your set up. The tech shouldn’t stress you out.
During lockdown he also tried to reduce complexity in his environment. Not only in his profession, but also in his home – to reduce clutter both externally and in his mind. He has made a big effort to go paperless and through this, he’s discovered a huge amount of technology he didn’t need and that by reducing the clutter it is easier to keep things (the moving parts) simple and more functional.
Arthur also strongly believes that as a speaker you have to be authentic and finds it better to not over practise the way you deliver a talk, but rather be real in the way you share your content. He says the scripts can tie you down and limit you from engaging the audience’s response and the organic flow of what they are responding to. If you can speak freely, the more natural and relevant each talk will be, so as speakers we need to be adaptable.
Arthur’s Top tip for remote speaking, is to not expect your audience to keep their camera on. As speakers, we want to see reaction and feel more comfortable, but unless there is a good reason for people to keep their camera on, we need to understand that most people feel uncomfortable doing so. So, get comfortable and used to speaking to a camera with no visibility of the audience.
At this year’s Innovation in Speaking conference, Arthur will be delving into how AI will remake you in the future. Have you wondered if robots and software will replace the professional speaker? You cannot afford to miss him in action as he will be talking about the speaker of the future and how AI is going to change the profession. Also, he will tell you why you shouldn’t be afraid of AI and how and why you should embrace it.
Get your tickets for 9-11 April right here!