Billionaire Warren Buffett says developing this skill can 'make a major difference' in your bank balance

'Up until about the age of 20... just the thought of [public speaking] made me physically ill,' Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway, said.

Billionaire and legendary American investor Warren Buffett has a word of advice for young professionals -- one that can make a major impact in how much they end up earning -- hone your communication skills.

In fact, speaking to Gillian Zoe Segal in an interview for her 2015 book, Getting There: A Book of Mentors, the 93-year-old had said that developing communication skills is “a modest improvement that can make a major difference in your future earning power, as well as in many other aspects of your life.”

The Berkshire Hathaway chairperson has also revealed that he took a public speaking course worth $ 100 (about Rs 83,000) that changed his life, CNBC Make It reported.

“Up until about the age of 20... just the thought of [public speaking] made me physically ill,” Warren Buffett said. “I selected courses in college where I didn’t have to stand up in front of the clas ... If I somehow did, I could hardly say my own name.”

After graduating from Columbia Business School and moving back to his hometown in Ohama, he saw an ad for a $100 public speaking course, and figured that paying so much money -- in cash -- would keep him accountable and force him to get over his fear, he told Segal.

After completing the course, Buffett sought out a teaching job at the University of Omaha to ensure his skills stayed sharp, he said. “I knew if I did not speak in front of people quickly, I would lapse back to where I’d started... I just kept doing it... The impact that the class had on my life was huge,” he said.