| New book addresses fear of public speaking |
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By Thomas B. Vaughn
When I first heard the title of Jeanette and Roy Henderson’s new book, “There’s No Such Thing As Public Speaking,” it seemed like a contradiction in terms. As a student, teacher and practitioner of public speaking, I asked myself, “How could this be?” |
The Hendersons cite the “Great Communicator,” President Ronald Reagan, as an example to clarify and reinforce their premise. They aptly assert that his speeches “never felt like speeches. It felt like he was in our living room having a private conversation with us. That is the goal of the perfect presentation: to realize that the number of people listening is irrelevant, you are simply having a one-on-one conversation with a lot of people at once.”
After stating their case for the perfect presentation as what I would call “heightened conversation,” Jeanette and Roy go on to prove their case with a treasure trove of tips, techniques and methods, all gleaned from their vast repertoire of expertise that encompasses over eight decades of combined experience in studying, learning, teaching, and practicing the art of presentation. Moreover, they do so with lively, elegant prose, unlike so many other stilted, text-bookish treatises on the topic.
Instead, Jeanette and Roy reveal their secrets of why their approach to public speaking works, and how you and I can apply that approach to becoming all we can be as public speakers. Examples of their expert guidance include:
• The six truths behind every conversation – and how to use them at the podium
• The three steps to inspiring an audience
• The seven secrets of using your voice and body language effectively
• The seven tools every speaker uses – or misuses.
In short, “There’s No Such Thing As Public Speaking” is one of those rare reading gems that actually delivers on what it promises. It may not eliminate the “butterflies” we all get when we have to speak in public, but it does show us how to get them to fly in formation, and to “make any presentation or speech as persuasive as a one-on-one conversation.”
Buy this book and read it. I guarantee that both amateur and professional speakers alike will benefit from the knowledge and wisdom of this seminal contribution to the literature by the Hendersons.
Thomas B. Vaughn, a retired U.S. Army colonel, is a professor of political science and public speaking at Motlow College and a columnist for the Southern Standard.
After stating their case for the perfect presentation as what I would call “heightened conversation,” Jeanette and Roy go on to prove their case with a treasure trove of tips, techniques and methods, all gleaned from their vast repertoire of expertise that encompasses over eight decades of combined experience in studying, learning, teaching, and practicing the art of presentation. Moreover, they do so with lively, elegant prose, unlike so many other stilted, text-bookish treatises on the topic.
Instead, Jeanette and Roy reveal their secrets of why their approach to public speaking works, and how you and I can apply that approach to becoming all we can be as public speakers. Examples of their expert guidance include:
• The six truths behind every conversation – and how to use them at the podium
• The three steps to inspiring an audience
• The seven secrets of using your voice and body language effectively
• The seven tools every speaker uses – or misuses.
In short, “There’s No Such Thing As Public Speaking” is one of those rare reading gems that actually delivers on what it promises. It may not eliminate the “butterflies” we all get when we have to speak in public, but it does show us how to get them to fly in formation, and to “make any presentation or speech as persuasive as a one-on-one conversation.”
Buy this book and read it. I guarantee that both amateur and professional speakers alike will benefit from the knowledge and wisdom of this seminal contribution to the literature by the Hendersons.
Thomas B. Vaughn, a retired U.S. Army colonel, is a professor of political science and public speaking at Motlow College and a columnist for the Southern Standard.