Effective public speaking is a valuable skill for professionals, leaders, entrepreneurs, and students in Nigeria. As a speaking coach, you can fulfil the growing need for training in this area. With the right approach, you can build a top reputation and a thriving coaching business.
This guide covers key steps to establish yourself as a skilled and sought-after public speaking coach in the Nigerian market.
Get proper training and certification.
First, invest in acquiring professional-grade public speaking coaching skills yourself.
Formal education: Consider a communications, linguistics, or relevant degree to build a solid foundation.
Specialised courses: take courses on public speaking, voice training, coaching techniques, etc. Certifications can boost your credentials.
Get a mentor. Learn directly from an experienced speaking coach as an apprentice or trainee.
Self-study: read books, do research online, and watch videos by experts to enhance your knowledge.
Practice relentlessly. Hone your own public speaking and coaching abilities through regular practice sessions.
Gaining robust training and credentials provides credibility when pitching clients. Highlight your qualifications prominently in marketing materials.
Determine your coaching niche and approach.
Decide on the specific audience and public speaking scenarios you will specialise in training for. Niches could include:
- Media appearances and PR
- Political speeches
- Business presentations and pitches
- Conference talks
- Wedding toasts
- Motivational speaking
- Youth leadership programmes
- Religious settings
- Academic contexts like lectures and thesis defences
Cater your coaching approach, experience, and marketing to your chosen niches where there is demand. Avoid trying to be everything to everyone early on.
Set up your coaching business properly.
Structure your public speaking coaching into a formal business:
Pick a business name. Choose a memorable, professional brand name. Register it appropriately.
Get licenced. Obtain relevant local permits and licences to operate legally.
Select a legal structure. Register as a sole proprietorship, LLC, or partnership. Consult professionals to decide what works best.
Open a business account. Set up a bank account and payment solutions to handle transactions separately from personal finances.
Establish an office. Designate a coaching workspace or studio, even if home-based initially.
Insure yourself. Take appropriate general, liability, and errors/omissions coverage.
Know tax requirements: register for taxes, charge VAT if required, and keep accurate financial records.
Handling the business formalities professionally builds credibility for attracting clients.
Develop your service offerings.
Design engaging training programmes and packages for your clients. Include:
Individual coaching: one-on-one personalised coaching to improve clients’ public speaking skills. Charge hourly or package rates.
Group classes: conduct group sessions focused on fundamentals or specific skills like speech writing. Bundle into multi-week curriculums.
Workshops: Host 1-2-day intensive public speaking workshops for deeper training.
Online courses: Record video lessons and tips to sell as online learning products.
Assessments: Offer evaluation sessions to assess clients’ skills and give improvement recommendations.
Resources: Provide supporting tools like speech outlines, presentation templates, video examples, etc. as value additions.
Categorise your services for your target niches and their learning preferences.
Develop excellent public speaking skills yourself.
Your own public speaking abilities must be exceptional to train others effectively.
Study great speakers. Analyse speeches by top global speakers to model their techniques.
Practice diverse speech types. Work through different speech formats like persuasive pitches, keynotes, toasts, etc.
Drill essential skills: Focus on mastering key areas like vocal variety, body language, storytelling, and audience engagement.
Get live coaching. Invest in your own continued improvement through a coach.
Review recordings: Tape your practices to spot areas for improvement.
Present frequently; seek out opportunities to deliver speeches for audiences to gain live experience.
Your personal public speaking mastery will earn clients’ confidence and belief in your coaching abilities.
Create a compelling personal brand.
Establish a strong personal brand highlighting your expertise and achievements as a public speaking authority and coach.
Share your story. Communicate your background, public speaking experiences, and passion for coaching. Be authentic.
Showcase achievements: talk about speeches delivered, clients trained, testimonials earned, etc.
Provide value-added content. Publish a professional website blog with public speaking tips, insights, and resources for the community. Post videos and podcasts.
Be active on social media. Post regularly on LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. to build your profile. Comment on industry conversations.
Speak at events. Seek speaking opportunities at conferences, schools, and organisations to showcase your talents.
Get published: Guest post articles with public speaking advice on industry blogs, news sites, and publications.
Network and partner Connect with meeting planners, associations, and nonprofits aligned with your niche. Offer pro-bono coaching.
Amplify your profile consistently across platforms to become known as a leading speaking expert and coach.
Optimise Your Website
Create a professional coaching website that convinces prospects to hire you. Essentials to include:
- About section highlighting your credentials, achievements, and brand story
- Services page explaining your coaching offerings, programmes, and methodologies
- Testimonials and client success stories
- Blog or resources section with public speaking tips
- Contact page and inquiry form for leads
- Portfolio with photos and videos from client sessions
- A clean, mobile-responsive design reflecting your brand
Prominently showcase your expertise and programme benefits. Optimise SEO elements like keywords, meta descriptions, alt text, etc. so your website appears higher in search results.
Offer a Free Introductory Session
Encourage prospects to experience your coaching and build trust by offering a free 30- to 60-minute introductory session.
Structure it to assess their goals and challenges. Provide high-value tips and a sample lesson. Conclude by overviewing your coaching programmes and their benefits.
The session gives prospects a risk-free way to evaluate you before purchasing. Follow up promptly to close sales.
Develop pricing and packages.
Create packaged offerings at varying price points for different needs:
One-on-one coaching Price by the hour based on your time and expertise. Have packages for 4, 8, or 12+ session bundles too.
Group classes: price per participant based on hours of content Offer discounts for multiple enrolments.
Workshops: Charge by the day or half-day. Include materials.
Online courses: low-cost digital products scalable through volume sales
Assessments: Price according to depth and deliverables like reports.
Enterprise training: custom bundles and annual contracts for corporate clients
Offer payment plans, early bird specials, and loyalty discounts. Avoid undervaluing your expertise. Raise prices gradually as you gain visibility.
Market your coaching services.
Promote your business through diverse channels:
Website and SEO: Optimise website content, keywords, and backlinks to get found online by searches for terms like “public speaking training”.
Paid ads: run Google, LinkedIn, and Facebook campaigns targeting professionals, students, religious groups, etc. interested in improving their public speaking skills.
Email marketing: Send regular newsletters with public speaking tips and course announcements. Nurture free signups into paying clients.
Social media: Share impactful before-and-after client success stories. Post promotional offers and testimonials.
Networking and referrals: Attend professional events, conferences, and association meetings to get introductions and referrals.
Corporate outreach: Contact companies about providing communication skills or leadership training for their employees.
Radio/podcast interviews Get featured as a public speaking expert on media to build authority and lead generation.
Print signage: post flyers and posters at schools, universities, religious centres, offices, etc. relevant to your niche.
Speaking gigs: Leverage speaking opportunities to showcase your skills and promote your coaching. Distribute business cards.
Experiment with different tactics to identify the most effective marketing channels with the best ROI for your business.
Develop excellent client onboarding processes.
Make an outstanding first impression by professionally welcoming new coaching clients.
- Send a personalised email or call to say you’re excited to work together. Provide scheduling links or intake forms to complete.
- Gather background details on their goals, challenges, speech types, target audiences, and more during intake.
- Have any checklists, questionnaires, assessments, or diagnostics ready to evaluate their starting abilities.
- Share an onboarding package covering your coaching approach, programme details, timeline, resources, and terms.
- Introduce clients to any online portals for accessing lesson materials, scheduling, support, etc.
- Offer a get-to-know-you kickoff session to align on objectives and logistics and get started on the right foot.
- Make payment and scheduling easy through online calendars and payment links.
- Check in periodically on how clients feel about progress and the coaching experience.
Exceptional onboarding ensures new clients are engaged, informed, and ready to gain value.
Structure coaching sessions effectively.
Conduct training sessions that impart high-impact public speaking skills that clients can apply immediately.
Assess goals: Start every session by checking which skills the client wants to focus on mastering during that lesson.
Do warm-up exercises. Get clients relaxed and focused through breathwork, vocal exercises, visualisation, etc.
Review and provide feedback: Give constructive feedback on their speeches, presentations, techniques, etc. to reinforce strengths and refine weaknesses.
Share new techniques. Introduce tried-and-tested public speaking methods like speech structures, vocal modulation, gestures, etc. and have them practice.
Assign homework. Give mini-talks, exercises, or assignments to complete before the next session to reinforce learning.
Leave session notes. Email a recap of key lesson takeaways, feedback, and the homework assignment after every session.
Structure your coaching curriculum and sessions to deliver high-value and demonstrable improvement.
Leverage technology in your coaching.
Use technology to enrich your clients’ learning experience.
- Recording equipment: Tape speeches and reviews together to identify improvement areas. Provide recordings for their reference.
- Presentation software: Use tools like PowerPoint and Prezi to create visual aids for practice talks.
- Online whiteboards: collaborate on frameworks, outlines, and ideas in real time.
- Virtual meeting software: Conduct remote coaching via video platforms for convenience.
- Online portals: have clients access session materials, submit assignments, schedule meetings, etc. via a portal.
- Mobile apps: Share useful public speaking learning apps for practising speech techniques.
- Online courses: Record video lessons and tips into digital courses clients can access anytime.
Integrating the right technology tools can optimise training and broaden your reach.
Develop effective coaching resources.
Create resources to supplement your hands-on coaching:
Speech outlines: Provide done-for-you speech templates, formats, and examples tailored to their specific speech needs.
Checklists: Hand out topic-specific checklists covering key public speaking preparation action steps.
Assessment sheets: supply forms for self-evaluating areas like body language, voice modulation, and eye contact after practice speeches.
Recommended reading: Suggest books, blogs, and guides with public speaking instruction relevant to clients.
Videos: Record examples demonstrating proper public speaking techniques for reference. Curate playlists of great speeches to analyse.
Practice guides: Have mini-courses on critical skills like gesturing, vocal exercises, and handling Q&As that clients can review repeatedly.
Resources help clients master skills faster and implement your coaching between sessions. Offer them as value-added products.
Develop a strong referral system.
Referrals from past satisfied clients can become a major source of new business.
Ask for referrals. Tell happy clients you’re growing your business through referrals and would appreciate their help. Most will gladly oblige.
Offer rewards: After a referral becomes a client, send a thank-you gift or offer a discount on future coaching.
Highlight testimonials: Publish video and written testimonials from referrers on your website with permission.
Automate reminders: Set up a system to automatically check in with past clients, periodically asking if they know someone who could benefit from your coaching.
Make it easy to refer. Share sample messages, and your contact details can be easily passed to interested contacts.
Close quickly. When a referral prospect reaches out, follow up ASAP to set up a free session before they find other options.
Thanking clients and making referrals mutually beneficial accelerates word-of-mouth traction.
Develop your reputation as an expert.
Getting published and speaking regularly expands your visibility as a top public speaking authority.
Write guest articles. Offer to provide public speaking tips and insider advice for online publications, blogs, and magazines.
Look for speaking opportunities. Contact conference organisers, schools, religious centres, nonprofits, and companies about delivering talks or workshops.
Do media outreach. Pitch yourself as an expert source for newspaper, radio, and TV stories related to communication skills.
Start a podcast. Launch your own show with public speaking advice and interviews with high-profile speakers.
Get quoted in stories. Respond when reporters request expert commentary on public speaking-related news events.
Promote your wins: Share when you speak at major events, get published, or are featured in the media on your website and social channels.
Positioning yourself prominently as a public speaking guru leads to more coaching prospects finding and choosing you.
Consider getting accredited.
Look into respected accreditation programmes that set professional standards in your niche.
International Coach Federation: The ICF provides recognised credentials like the ACC, PCC, and MCC for meeting coaching experience and ethical requirements.
Global Speakers Federation: The GSF offers the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation for proven speaking experience.
National Speakers Association: Joining industry associations like the NSA provides community, resources, and credibility.
Earning respected certifications communicates to clients that you meet stringent industry best practices and are committed to excellence.
Keep developing your skills.
The best coaches continuously evolve their abilities.
Take your own training. Invest time and money regularly into advancing your own public speaking and coaching skills.
Attend industry events. Go to public speaking conferences and workshops to discover new techniques.
Read industry publications. Stay on top of the latest trends and insights by reading coaching and speaking magazines and books.
Get a business coach. Work with a business coach or mentor periodically to improve your coaching business operations.
Learn from peers. Join professional associations to exchange ideas with fellow speaking coaches.
Keep practicing. Maintain your personal public speaking skills through regular practice talks and presentations.
Review client feedback. Use client satisfaction surveys and testimonials to refine your coaching approach.
Update offerings: Add new speciality courses and services catered to emerging client needs.
Continuously developing your knowledge, credibility, and skills will sustain top performance over the long term.
Give back through pro-bono coaching.
Enhance your brand and gain experience by volunteering to coach.
School programmes: Contact schools and universities about coaching debate teams, students competing in public speaking contests, or youth leadership groups.
Nonprofit organisations: Offer free or discounted coaching clinics to nonprofits and religious groups for important speaking occasions like fundraisers or sermons.
Business incubators: provide communication skills training to early-stage entrepreneurs.
Conferences: Volunteer as a speaker coach at industry conferences.
Pro bono coaching allows you to change lives while building skills, exposure, and community goodwill.
Conclusion
With a dedication to honing your expertise, designing compelling offerings, and relentlessly marketing your services, you can establish yourself as a sought-after public speaking coach in Nigeria. Satisfied clients will spread your reputation, bringing a steady stream of new business over the long term. The impact you have on your clients’ confidence and success will make the effort truly rewarding, both personally and professionally.