Tens of millions of people world-wide fear and even loathe speaking in public. But speaking to impact and influence others is a critical life skill. It's not enough to have the best product, the best service or the best idea-you need to be able persuade and convince others that what you're offering is the best. That requires the ability to present your product, your ideas and yourself in the most compelling yet authentic way. It's very difficult to be successful professionally and even personally without being able to influence others. When people are placed in a key setting, be it briefing internal stakeholders, conversing with clients, presenting to the board, or delivering a scripted address to a conference attended by hundreds of people, even talking to the media, they tend to think they must become somebody they're not-someone polished, articulate, and even eloquent. The truth is that their audience doesn't want that. What they want is the genuine, authentic you. Previous books on the topic focus on peripheral tactics such as gestures, intonation and 'walking the room.' With all that has been published, why is it that nine out of ten speakers still bore us to tears? Politics aside, most would agree that President Obama won his first term of office because he was a captivating speaker. By learning and practicing the principles and techniques in this book, virtually anyone can speak with as much impact as President Obama. In this book, readers are shown what those skills look and sound like in themselves, what it takes for them to be exceptional and how easy it is-as long as they are willing to practice. Importantly, this book provides simple exercises and tools to aid in practice along the way. The most profound secret to speaking is learning to pause. Executed well, the pause is what your audience needs to think about what you've said and what it means to them. In this book, readers will learn that silence is always golden.
