How do public speaking skills advance your career?

I was planning a post on how public speaking skills help us in "real life," and along came Andrew Dlugan with an excellent post on "10 Ways Your Presentation Skills Generate Career Promotions."

An excerpt:

"Benefit #6: You are a better listener

Poor presenters: They are too concerned about their own presentation mishaps to listen attentively to the audience.

You: Presentation skills are not only about what you say; it’s about how you listen. With a heightened sense of how to convey a message to your audience, you have also developed keen listening skills. Listening effectively to your audience makes you a better listener at all times. This, in turn, makes you more approachable…

Benefit #7: You are more approachable

Poor presenters: They may welcome the idea of interacting with others, but they are not seen as approachable because their presentations are always always one-sided information dumps, not conversations.

You: You are more approachable because you “put yourself out there” more often. You design your presentations to be interactive conversations. You encourage Q&A during and after your presentations. Colleagues will come to you first with ideas and opportunities because they know you are receptive to listening to them."

Now go read about all the benefits that come before and after these two!