Excerpt
Preface

In some ways, this book is a glimpse into my life’s story. It celebrates my continuing journey and ongoing development as a public speaker, but it is more a story about my process than it is about my arrival. There are literally thousands of books on public speaking, so why is this one worthy of your time? Like most people, public speaking did not come easy for me. Once upon a time, the very thought of talking in public would make me apprehensive and a bit sweaty. Nevertheless, public speaking is kind of like death and taxes; there is no way around it. Books are plentiful that focus on preparing presentations and delivering them with skill and style. This book, which is directed to active and aspiring speakers, teaches one how to build a purpose-centered presentation from start to finish. My goal here is to offer the reader a proven systematic approach designed to help new and experienced speakers develop and deliver purposeful talks that produce a desired outcome. This purpose-centered approach gives speakers an upfront goal that helps them align all components of the talk so that they achieve a predetermined result. In a busy world, sometimes we need a thumbnail sketch of a subject, one that shows us a view of the big picture albeit in a small and condensed way. Thus this book is designed to be more of an overview than a treatise on public speaking. I trust you will use the helpful resources included herein to continue your study of this fascinating topic.