How Your Public Appearances Can Help to Establish Your Online Credibility ...

If you've ever taken some type of drama class, you have every reason to say that you've made an appearance in front of an audience. Note that an appearance does not mean you must have spoken to the audience. It could be that you had a silent role in a production, for example.

Have you spent time on a debate team? Or, presented your thoughts at a book club? Try to recall any time that you made an appearance, stood in front of an audience, and received some kind of recognition. Don't hide these facts from members of the media. Perhaps they can make good use of these particular facts about you.

Have you ever served as a member on a panel or led a seminar? If you've answered “yes” to either of these questions, then you can honestly say that you've made a public appearance at an event. Perhaps you directed a question to someone that was sitting on a panel? If your question seemed to grab the attention of the majority of the audience, then you can add to your list of appearances.

Perhaps you worked with a small group of students. Or, maybe you had a job as a lab assistant while you were in college. In either case, you completed a job that demanded making an appearance.

This is an example of a silent appearance. A model must appear before an audience, but does not speak. It's not just about the runway. A display may benefit by having someone wear an appropriate costume and stand next to it, for example. Think back to events in which you took part. Did you ever stand close to a display, while wearing a special costume? If so, then you've made an appearance.

Some people refuse to take on this task. If you've been willing to take on this responsibility, then you should not hesitate to mention your readiness to read aloud publicly. This counts as an appearance.

There is a group called "Fill The Room" that travels the country holding workshops meant to help people with their public speaking skills. Even if you never speak anywhere after attending a workshop like this, you will come away with a reason to state that you've made an appearance - even if it was just practice.

Even if you were just acting in a volunteer capacity, if you were asked to speak to a group, you performed a noteworthy task. In doing so, you added to your list of appearances.

Often, an instructor welcomes the opportunity to have a guest speaker present to their students, because a guest speaker can help supplement the material being covered in the class. If you've ever been a guest speaker, then you have made an appearance.

Do not feel overwhelmed if the only empty chair at a workshop happens to be the one at the speakers’ table. Instead, be ready to appear deserving of that particular seat. Try to think of a piece of knowledge that you can pass on to the audience. If you can impress them, then you have every reason to claim that you've made yet another appearance.