I’m a public speaker – not a beginner and not an old pro either – and this book saved the day for me.
Recently, I was preparing for a presentation that I was giving and to put it mildly, I was struggling. In the midst of plotting new material for a new audience sector I was running out of time and on top of that I had a miserable cold that was draining my energy.
The Book: Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker, O’Reilly, 2010.
Author’s Website: ScottBerkun.com
(We rapped Scott’s book Making Ideas Happen over at Book Rapper)
The remedy for my situation was Berkun’s chapter called ‘You can’t do worse than this’. It’s a collection of contributions from fellow public speakers revealing their worst nightmares come true.
Now, that did make me feel better. I couldn’t do worse than that!
[bctt tweet=”The best book on #publicspeaking I’ve read – funny, practical and real @scottberkun Confessions of a Public Speaker” via=”no”]
Some things I like about this book:
The obvious metaphor is that it’s a look behind the curtain, but I think Berkun’s account of public speaking goes deeper than that. It’s like you’re standing next to him as he whispers in your ear about what’s going on in his head – the nerves, the concerns and the secret hopes.
Most books I’ve read on public speaking tend to be like a lot of leadership books – they tell you how it’s supposed to be done and not how it actually is.
This is why I’m pleased to say this is the best book I’ve read on Public Speaking – It’s funny, practical and best of all, it’s real.
Read this book if you want to begin or improve your public speaking.
More: Listen to our podcast episode – Business Models for Speakers
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