Full Description

The Top Performer’s Guide to Speeches and Presentations helps businesspeople master that most daunting of workplace challenges—addressing a group of coworkers, clients or customers.

--Overcoming nerves and fear
--Preparing for different types of speeches
--Engaging the audience

Table of Contents

Introduction: Developing Your Personal Signature as a Speaker
- Why Top Performers Must be Great at Presentations
- Who is this Book For?
- The Core Concept: Using Your Whole Mind
- Objectives and Overview

Section I: The Essentials

Chapter 1: Style and Structure
- Have You Ever...?
- What Top Performers Know About Presentations
- Three Main Levels of Speakers
- The Speaking Drug: Adrenaline
- Common Presentation Blunders
- Tips from the Pros

Chapter 2: The Four Cornerstones: Conviction, Preparation, Direction, and Delivery
- Have You Ever...?
- The Four Cornerstones
- Tips from the Pros

Chapter 3: Personal Speaking Tools: Eyes, Voice, and Body
- Have You Ever...?
- What Top Performers Know About Presentations
- Fear in Delivery

Section II: Right Brain Engagement: Don’t be a Half-Brain Speaker

Chapter 4: Relating to Your Audience through Story
- Have You Ever...?
- What Top Performers Know About Presentations
- Tips from the Pros

Chapter 5: Mining Your Life for Stories
- Have You Ever...?
- What Top Performers Know About Presentations
- Telling a Story Well
- Three Key Elements to Using Stories
- Mining Your Life
- Tips from the Pros

Section III: Presentation Mapping: Finding Your Way through a Presentation

Chapter 6: Introducing Your Idea, Making a Case, and Advancing Your Message
- Have You Ever...?
- Presentation Mapping
- Introducing Your Idea
- Advancing Your Message
- Tips from the Pros

Chapter 7: Whole-Brain Speaking: Bringing It All Together
- Have You Ever...?
- What Top Performers Know About Presentations
- Three-Step Process for Mastering a Talk
- A Final Thought...

Excerpt

Style and Structure

Have You Ever…?
Have you ever spent a lot of money on something that you ended up not using? Let me tell you about a gentleman I once knew who had extreme buyer’s remorse. I was attending a major event for leaders across the country. At this particular event, each speaker paid $10,000 for the opportunity to stand up for five minutes in front of this elite group of professionals. This was their chance to speak to a group of influential buyers who they usually would have no chance to get in front of. So the cost was significant, the stakes were high, and the ability to present well was crucial.

Unfortunately, the first speaker got up and was obviously nervous. He was stumbling over his words and ended up thanking the audience for about one minute (20% of his allotted presentation time). At this point I was no longer looking at him—I was looking at the audience. Often when we study speakers, the best way to gauge their ability is looking at the audience because the people listening will tell you everything you need to know. As I watched I noticed that a third of the crowd was fiddling with their pens or looking around. The speaker then went on to give detailed information about his credentials and experience for about two minutes (40% of his presentation time). At this point about half of the audience was engrossed in some other activity, such as chatting with their neighbors. Three minutes into his five-minute presentation he finally started to talk a little about his product, but did so by dumping as much information as possible into that last two minutes. By the end of this presentation, no one cared about anything he had to say. Ten thousand dollars were down the drain because he did not know how to engage his audience.

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