I have met many businessmen who are afraid of delivering public presentations for various reasons. It is surprising that such people have usually no problems with one-to-one meetings or with talking to small groups in a non-official environment.

There seem to be several reasons why business people could be very nervous before delivering public speeches. Below are some of them.

1. OUT OF PRACTICE

Poor performance at public presentations can be temporary. It can result from a simple lack of experience. It includes uncontrolled mimics, gestures, behaviours, trembling voice, etc. Once you are forced to get out of your comfort zone and to speak to the public on many occasions, you gradually learn how to do it. A helpful hand of friends or specialists can help you correct your mistakes.

2. SCARED OF THE PAST EXPERIENCE

Being afraid of speaking publicly can be permanent. You failed once or twice and you do not want it to repeat.

3. DOES CONTENT MATTER?

Being successful at public speaking is strictly related to the content you present and how well you understand it. Without bringing valuable content, you should not present. In general, if you are not prepared well for your presentation, you will fail or underperform. Preparations take time. Rome was not built in a day.

Simplifying definitions, coaches know the right questions to help you find the right answers, while mentors assist you in opening doors which have been opened before and consultants solve problems on your behalf.

Companies hire business coaches, mentors and consultants when their results are below their expectations, firms want to boost their businesses or there are issues in healthy companies which need to be addressed. Both coaching and mentoring should give a client new energy and valid alternatives to make necessary changes happen.

I would risk a thesis that every leader or manager (even very successful and experienced) would benefit from having a very good coach, mentor or consultant. It is because they can help you see issues from an external perspective. A manager who claims to know and see everything around him/her can hardly be called a leader.

There are plenty of coaches, mentors and consultants on the market. Like in other professions, not too many of them are really good. Few are very good at combining coaching techniques, vast business experience and ability to perform consulting to their clients at the same time. They can be called:

A coach/mentor/consultant in one

The selection of a very good business coach/mentor/consultant is a quite complex task. Many coaches with psychological background have a very limited business experience. Few serious CEO would ever listen to questions asked by a 27 year old coach, even with a valid coaching school certificate.

Too many experienced managers do not know coaching tools, not to mention their underdeveloped soft skills.

Top consulting companies are not affordable to a majority of SMEs and their value for money proposal is often questionable by many managers.

I see here two conclusions that can help you in your current situation.

Have you ever thought of closing your business when you saw your company’s profit percentage on the level below the bank interest rates?

There are many possible reasons for such a situation:

1. You optimize tax payments.
2. You invest now in future profits. 
3. You fight for a market share and you temporarily pay the price for it.
4. Your business model needs improvement.
5. You lost control over your business.
6. You lack capital to grow or to make necessary changes. 
7. Your competitors outperform you. 
8. You think it does not matter.
9. Dear Reader: Please add yours…

Many CEOs or owners give all types of excuses to explain low profitability of their companies.

The following symptoms may help you in a self-assessment whether your company is in a trap of permanently low profitability: