Can public speaking make you rich?


Hi Reader

Can public speaking make you rich?

I keep wondering about it, and I guess I have an insight to share with you.

Before we get into my take on this, what does 'rich' mean to you?

Think for a moment.

Does being rich mean having more money? I know. I know. I hear you say, "Duh. That's right."

Ok. So here are some questions to think about.

Does being rich mean having a great family?

Does being rich mean having friends whom you can count on?

Does being rich mean having meaning to the work that you are doing?

Does being rich mean having the ability to earn respect from anyone you come in contact with?

So what's the answer to the question 'What does rich mean to you?'?

I guess you realize that there is no 'one' right answer. And even if you have the 'one' answer now, it can change as you change. When you were in your 20s, there could be a different answer. When you are in your 30s, there could be a different answer. When you are in your 40s, there could be a different answer.

But it helps to have an answer.

Why?

Just for the kick of life!

Now, let me come back to the original question: Can public speaking make you rich?

There are people (call them professional/keynote speakers) on planet Earth who charge north of 4, 5, 6, or 7 figures per speech (Yup, that's right even 7 figures). There's a catch. People pay not just because of the "Speaking ability" but also because of the "Expertise ability." I talked about keynoting/professional speaking just to make you aware that there are avenues out there.

But my main point is to help you discover the pure value. If you get good at this, without you realizing it, you'll start influencing others through your speech or your one-on-one communication. Your peers, family, or friends will start respecting that part of you. And that's invaluable.

So, public speaking may or may not make you 'rich', but it will certainly 'enrich' your life.

That's my take.

Have a great rest of the weekend, and for folks in India who are celebrating the festival tomorrow...Happy Krishna Jayanthi/Janmashtami!

Once again, appreciate your time and attention. Thanks for being awesome!

-Rama

Ramakrishna Reddy's Author Page

PublicSpeakKing

Learn something every week about public speaking, book writing or personal development. Join 1500+ creatives and professionals who receive my action packed yet entertaining newsletter.

Read more from PublicSpeakKing

Hi Reader How are you doing? Last week was very interesting as there was a knee jerk reaction on how AI is coming after the software sector. Well, if you are not following it, it's ok. Long story short. There was a huge correction in the market valuation of all the IT service companies. And largely attributed to Anthropic's latest launch. This is just the beginning of the effects that we are seeing. AI is already here and it's scary at one end and exciting at the other end. Why exciting? The...

Hi Reader How are you doing? I wanted to share this with my community here but maybe this week is the right time. We stress a lot about various techniques and ideas that sometimes we miss concentrating on one thing. It just hit me like a ton of bricks when I watched my 6 year old's first stage experience holding the microphone. (Ok, I got very emotional seeing that while generally I portray an image of not getting emotional!) Watch the video here. It's a poem and I'm fairly confident you'll...

Hi Reader How are you doing? I'm sure you got your 2026 dialled in. Come one, we are almost at the end of Jan 2026! I have been researching and understanding the Gen AI eco system. I think it is already here. You may wonder why all this hype. AI was always there and we were part of it (amazon recommending more products, or your incoming emails being classified into spam/not spam, etc). Top tech companies where using it for a while. The hype around AI became more because of Gen AI (Generative...