Jobs for Public Speakers (With Salaries and Primary Duties)
Updated August 25, 2023
People with excellent communication skills and the ability to hold the attention of an audience can pursue a variety of professions that showcase their public speaking abilities. Public speakers deliver speeches or engage audiences in discussions about a specific topic. Learning about careers that involve public speaking can help you identify a career path that's most suitable for your skills as a public speaker. In this article, we explain what jobs for public speakers are, discuss the characteristics of public speaking, and review a list of jobs that involve public speaking.
What are jobs for public speakers?
Jobs for public speakers are professions that require delivering messages and speeches that are both informative and engaging. An individual who speaks in public may be self-employed or work as a spokesperson for a company or agency. They convey information about products or industries interestingly and innovatively. Various industries, including business and education, benefit from public speaking. The purpose of a presentation or speech is to convey a message to people, such as peers, leadership teams, and investors.
Related: Why Is Public Speaking Important? (With Tips to Improve)
Characteristics of a public speaker
The following characteristics can help you be a more effective public speaker:
Communication: Good communication involves expressing ideas, thoughts, opinions, knowledge, and data clearly and concisely. Developing your communication skills can help improve your ability to present your ideas and defend your viewpoints.
Sales ability: Using public speaking effectively can increase a company's sales by allowing you to establish a connection with the audience rather than merely making a sales pitch. Sales skills include empathizing, asking questions, and providing clarity.
Speech writing: Writing speeches involves using proper punctuation and expression to convey a thought or message to the audience. Speech writing helps you to think about the topic, persuasive strategy, and diction of your speech, which is beneficial for improving your public speaking abilities.
Creativity: When delivering information, creativity can help the audience engage with the speaker and better understand what the speaker is trying to convey. Combining creativity with public speaking can enhance open-mindedness, develop fresh ideas, broaden your perspective, and expand your imagination.
Passion: An effective public speaker exhibits passion both during the preparation and delivery of their message to maintain the interest of their audience. Passion allows you to appeal to an audience, deliver a memorable presentation, and persevere until you achieve your goals.
Confidence: Having confidence can help you manage your thoughts more effectively and with greater focus, which allows you to communicate more clearly. Being confident can also improve your ability to articulate your thoughts and answer questions with ease.
Related: 15 Tips to Improve Your Public Speaking Skills
Jobs for public speakers
The following is a list of jobs for public speakers:
1. Tour guide
National average salary: $29,974 per year
Primary duties: Tour guides help groups of people explore a particular city, landmark, establishment, or area of interest. A tour guide identifies the route for the tour, gets to know the people in the group, and provides the group with educational information. Individuals or groups may hire a tour guide to provide them with information about the location. Tour guides adhere to customers' itineraries and share information about the location in an entertaining way.
2. Teacher
National average salary: $36,842 per year
Primary duties: Teachers guide their students through specific activities to teach them about a wide range of subjects, such as math, language, and science. They also monitor and grade each student's work and test results. Teachers communicate with students and their parents or guardians regarding their progress. To ensure students effectively comprehend different subjects, teachers develop educational lesson plans that engage students' interests.
3. Reporter
National average salary: $44,203 per year
Primary duties: Through the reporting of current events and news, reporters provide the public with a variety of information. Reporters cover news on an international, national, and local scale for websites, magazines, television, and radio. They may also testify at trials, press conferences, or city council meetings. Reporters may specialize in one or more areas, such as crime, the arts, entertainment, sports, education, or technology. To gather information and opinions, reporters interview multiple people and conduct additional research to verify their findings.
Related: What Is Public Communication? (With Benefits and Types)
4. Sales representative
National average salary: $57,193 per year
Primary duties: Sales representatives sell products and services for a company on behalf of its brand. Throughout the sales process, sales representatives directly interact with customers from initial contact to purchase. A sales representative identifies a customer's needs, pitches relevant products or services, and ensures a positive customer experience throughout the process. Some sales representatives make cold calls to prospects that they identify through business directories or client referrals.
Find sales representative jobs
5. Public relations manager
National average salary: $59,035 per year
Primary duties: Public relations managers help organizations clarify their position to their target audiences through press releases and interviews. They monitor social, economic, and political trends that may affect their organizations and suggest ways to improve their image based on those trends. A public relations manager also handles press inquiries, pitches the media about a specific corporate initiative, and distributes information and news releases externally on behalf of the organization.
Find public relations manager jobs
Related: 12 Public Relations Careers (With Average Salaries and Duties)
6. Public speaking coach
National average salary: $59,293 per year
Primary duties: A public speaking coach helps clients develop public speaking skills that can contribute to the achievement of their professional and personal public speaking goals. By observing clients in public speaking test settings, they can identify ways for clients to change their vocal delivery and improve their articulation. Depending on the client's needs, a public speaking coach may also instruct students or clients on effective debate techniques, persuasive arguments, and rhetorical delivery. A public speaking coach may work with individuals and groups, such as employees at a business.
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Related: What Are Speaking Engagements? (With How-to Steps and Tips)
7. Curator
National average salary: $63,240 per year
Primary duties: An art gallery or museum curator oversees a collection of exhibits. An art curator works with museums and other organizations to collect, catalogue, and display art and artifacts. Using exhibitions, publications, events, and audio-visual presentations, curators interpret objects, archives, and artwork. Their responsibilities include negotiating loans and acquisitions, raising funds, and maintaining records regarding their collections. A curator may also address large groups of people to describe the artist or to explain the museum's decision to keep a particular type of artwork in the collection.
8. Mediator
National average salary: $64,693 per year
Primary duties: Mediators are impartial individuals who serve as intermediaries between parties facing disagreements or seeking help in finding a mutually beneficial solution. Mediators evaluate the issue, speak with the parties to understand their goals and motivations, and work with both parties to reach a successful resolution. Rather than deciding the outcome, the mediator helps the parties identify and focus on the most important issues necessary to reach a satisfactory resolution. Mediators provide their services in a variety of areas, including civil, community, and family matters.
9. Judge
National average salary: $76,086 per year
Primary duties: A judge presides over hearings and listens to the arguments of opposing sides. Judges conduct pretrial hearings, facilitate negotiations between opposing parties, and make legal decisions. They conduct research on laws and regulations, supervise law clerks and court employees, and meet with lawyers to discuss cases and encourage settlements. Judges can also perform marriage ceremonies and issue marriage licences.
10. Purchasing manager
National average salary: $86,361 per year
Primary duties: Purchasing managers develop purchasing strategies and coordinate the daily activities of the purchasing department in sourcing suppliers, ordering products, and buying equipment. Their responsibilities include analyzing the market for price trends and predicting future material availability. Purchasing managers also conduct vendor research, negotiate prices, prepare purchase orders and requisitions, and keep purchase records. They may communicate with vendors and suppliers to negotiate delivery requirements and review the quality of the items.
11. Broadcaster
National average salary: $92,876 per year
Primary duties: Broadcasters provide information and entertainment in a manner that appeals to a specific audience. As an example, sports broadcasts appeal to sports fans. Broadcasters express their own opinions or read scripts, such as news reports or marketing messages, on the radio, television, and online websites. They interact with other members of the production and technical teams, introduce and host programs, and interview guests by telephone or in person.
12. Lawyer
National average salary: $100,091 per year
Primary duties: Lawyers provide legal advice and representation to individuals, businesses, and government entities. They educate and defend clients regarding their rights, interact with the courts and other lawyers, and manage legal proceedings on behalf of their clients. Lawyers also offer legal advice to their clients, conduct legal research, and draft legal documents. A lawyer may also draft, review, or manage wills, trusts, estates, contracts, and deeds, depending on their specialty.
Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organization and a candidate's experience, academic background, and location.
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