Review: Useful, comprehensive guide for extraverts too!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 15, 2014
I'm reasonably experienced at making public presentations, thanks to a long career in PR involving lots of client pitches and the occasional public address. I've organised quite a few too, as I used to run a public lecture series at a nearby private school. And I've seen far too many bad public speeches by senior execs who really should have known better than administer that well-known torture technique, death by powerpoint!With a number of speaking engagements of my own already in my diary for 2014, I was very pleased to be offered a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Knowing of Joanna Penn's reputation as a public speaker and author, I was eager to read it.I was surprised to find that Joanna, and many other respected public speakers are actually introverts - a bit like Laurence Olivier and other top actors being crippled with stage-fright, I suppose. On Joanna's recommendation early in the book, I took a free Myers-Briggs style test to find out whether, as an author, I was one too. I discovered (not entirely to my surprise) that I am very much an extravert - but even so, this book contained plenty of valuable and interesting material that will help me be a better speaker. I don't think she would need to change very much in the book to turn it into "Public Speaking for Extraverts", but I'm sure any introverts reading it will be very reassured by the passages about their particular challenges.Much of the book focuses not on developing the content of your speech or presentation, but on all the before and after considerations - how to find speaking engagements, what fees to charge, how to psych yourself up before you go on, how to expect to feel afterwards, etc etc. All very useful for anyone looking to develop public speaking as an additional income stream - and also for those who want to use speaking opportunities to raise their public profile and sell more of their books. (I fall into the latter category.) Being very bad at the financial side of things myself, I was heartened to read that even the best speakers will sometimes think it's worthwhile to do a talk for free, as I do, if the returns in kind are worthwhile (back-of-the-room book sales, higher profile, networking opportunities, etc.)The single most useful tip? That no-one cares how you, the speaker, feels! The audience is instead concentrating on what's in it for them.I will tell myself that now before every talk that I give, and I'm sure it will help me give more audience satisfaction.But this book doesn't just contain Joanna's viewpoint. There is a section from the renowned performance poet Dan Holloway, plus three interviews with high-achieving speakers in different fields. Two of the three speakers I had come across before, the other I didn't, but they all had much to add, including the perspectives of very different personalities, speaking topics and styles. These bonus sections help make this an even more well-rounded book with wider appeal.Incidentally, I had the pleasure of seeing one of them, Alastair Humphreys, speak years ago at the start of his speaking career, when I booked him as a guest lecturer. He made a big impression on the audience then, was a joy to deal with, and it was great to learn that he has since made a sound career out of his public speaking, though now shifting focus to write more books. An excellent choice for inclusion here.I really enjoyed and appreciated Joanna's thoughtful, frank and very personal style of writing in this book, including her questioning in the interviews section. She demonstrates that she has in abundance the three qualities that one of her interviewees says every good speaker should have: spontaneity, vulnerability and authenticity. A winning combination in this book, as well as on the public speaking stage.Thank you, Joanna Penn