Name: Confessions of a public speaker
ISBN: 9781449301958

Confessions of a public speaker

In this hilarious and highly practical book, author and professional speaker Scott Berkun reveals the techniques behind what great communicators do, and shows how anyone can learn to use them well. For managers and teachers -- and anyone else who talks and expects someone to listen -- Confessions of a Public Speaker provides an insider's perspective on how to effectively present ideas to anyone. It's a unique, entertaining, and instructional romp through the embarrassments and triumphs Scott has experienced over 15 years of speaking to crowds of all sizes. With lively lessons and surprising confessions, you'll get new insights into the art of persuasion -- as well as teaching, learning, and performance -- directly from a master of the trade. Highlights include: Berkun's hard-won and simple philosophy, culled from years of lectures, teaching courses, and hours of appearances on NPR, MSNBC, and CNBC Practical advice, including how to work a tough room, the science of not boring people, how to survive the attack of the butterflies, and what to do when things go wrong The inside scoop on who earns $30,000 for a one-hour lecture and why The worst -- and funniest -- disaster stories you've ever heard (plus countermoves you can use) Filled with humorous and illuminating stories of thrilling performances and real-life disasters, Confessions of a Public Speaker is inspirational, devastatingly honest, and a blast to read.

What Hacker News says

troelsSteeginApr 2021

I like Scott Berkun's book "Confessions of a Public Speaker". Berkun emphasizes practice. His focus is on talks, as distinct from meetings, which is what I interpret to be your interest.

In meetings, I would continue to listen hard, and make note of critical points - and then after the meeting, have a quick chat with someone else from the meeting and share an observation or two. You can build confidence and reputation that way. In the meeting proper, if you get flustered, slow down. You belong there and people want to hear what you have to say. One approach is to focus first on the thing that you think people really need to hear, and then explain it.

thread

ayMay 2019

A book “confessions of a public speaker” has quite a few very nice and useful anecdotes and tips.

And a random personal anecdote:

I had a really difficult time even at toastmasters dealing with my Uhms and Umms. Having someone count them somewhat works, but I decided to experiment by just watching my daily speech to be the same “quality” as public speech, and try to suppress the garbage words even during no-stress moments.

It took maybe half a year of practice, but as a result I started to speak slower and (probably :) clearer in the day to day life, and this during the public speaking too, with zero effort.

Edit-append: the most useful exercise is taking the projector, presenting in an empty room as if for the crowd, recording this “from a seat” and watching yourself. Extremely weird at first, but you very quickly see the areas to focus on. And since you must rehearse any talk anyway several times (at least that is the case for me), it is a zero-cost and high return activity.

thread

gummadiAug 2013

Great points! A lot of this advice matches with Scott Berkun's "Confessions of a Public Speaker". Excellent actionable advice on public speaking. http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Public-Speaker-English/dp/...

thread

evanhamiltonDec 2012

I'm a big fan of "Confessions of a Public Speaker". Even if you don't agree with all the advice, it gives you some great perspective.

thread

ABSMar 2012

would be great to get Scott Berkun opinion on this (I enjoyed his "Confessions of a Public Speaker" http://www.speakerconfessions.com/)

thread

ajjuJan 2012

This is a great post: specific, original advice rooted in practical experience.

A useful and concise book on the topic is Scott Berkun's confessions of a public speaker.

thread