Confessions of a Public Speaker 111
brothke writes "While there is a plethora of books such as Public Speaking for Dummies, and many similar titles, Confessions of a Public Speaker is unique in that it takes a holistic approach to the art and science of public speaking. The book doesn't just provide helpful hints, it attempts to make the speaker, and his associated presentation, compelling and necessary. Confessions is Scott Berkun's first-hand account of his many years of public speaking, teaching and television appearances. In the book, he shares his successes, failures, and many frustrating experiences, in the hope that the reader will be a better speaker for it." Keep reading for the rest of Ben's review.
An issue with many books on public speaking is that they focus on the mechanics of public speaking. While there is nothing necessarily wrong with that approach, Confessions takes a much deeper and analytical look at public speaking. The book demonstrates that the best public speakers are not simply people with fancy PowerPoints; rather they are excellent communicators with a strong message.| Confessions of a Public Speaker | |
| author | Scott Berkun |
| pages | 238 pages |
| publisher | O'Reilly Media |
| rating | 8/10 |
| reviewer | Ben Rothke |
| ISBN | 0596801998 |
| summary | Professional speaker Scott Berkun reveals the techniques behind what great communicators do |
While other books focus and stress the importance of creating good PowerPoints, Confessions shows how one can rise above the PowerPoint and be a presenter of ideas to the audience. Such an approach can take a dry presentation and turn it into a compelling one.
Berkun notes that while many people perceive public speaking to be a terrifying experience, the reality is that it does not have to be so petrifying. With fundamental preparations, even the most timid person can be a public speaker. While such a person will never be a speaker at the caliber of a Steve Jobs, there is no reason they can't present an enjoyable and educating presentation.
The book is loaded with chapter after chapter of practical advice. Berkun also shows what to do when things go terribly wrong; from how to work a tough room, when technology fails, microphones that go bad and more.
The book also provides effective techniques on how to deal with a participant, who in the course of asking a question, turns it into a monologue or diatribe. His suggestion is to throw the question back at the audience. Ask the audience "how many people are interested in this question?", If only a fraction of the audience raise their hands, tell the questioner to come up afterwards and that you will answer them. Berkun concludes that just because a question is raised, does not mean that the speaker is obligated to answer it.
Some of the advice in the book is obvious, but only after you read it, such as not turning your back on the audience, and more. One of the better suggestions is rather than ending a talk with "are there there any questions?", use "what questions did you think I would answer but didn't?"
As an effective communicator, one would have thought that Berkun could have gotten his message across with less profanity. While the book is not necessarily profanity laden; it is there in numerous places. That will preclude the book from being purchased in many organizations sensitive to that.
Chapter 6 — the Science of not boring people — is perhaps the best chapter in the book, where Berkun takes a look at a fundamental problem with many public presentations, they are simply boring. The chapter describes an experiment in which heart-rate monitors were strapped to listening students during lectures. Their heart rate peaked at the start of the lectures and then steadily declined. Berkun notes that with this depressing fact, it's easy to understand why most lectures are slow one-way trips into sedation. Our bodies, sitting around doing little, go into rest mode, and where our bodies go, our minds will follow."
Berkun also writes of perhaps what is the biggest bane of having to listen to a speaker, death by PowerPoint. Far too many speakers lack relevant content and try to make up for that with fancy PowerPoint presentations. Berkun notes that far too few people create their content first. Rather they put their ideas immediately into a PowerPoint, with the hope that good content will magically emerge. The message Berkun says repeatedly and which speakers should take to heart, is that content is what matters, and not the sacred PowerPoint.
The reason for so much death by PowerPoint is that many speakers are seduced by the style of the presentation and get caught up in the fonts, videos, graphics, and more, and lose all context of the points that they want to make. Berkun concludes that the problem with most bad presentations is not the slides, the visuals or any of the things that most people obsess about; rather it is the lack of thinking.
The book also stresses the importance of good feedback for the speaker to grow into a better speaker. The challenge is that most attendees are reticent to give effective rebuke to the speaker. Berkun says the best way to overcome this is for a speaker to videotape themselves, and be merciless with themselves, extracting what their mistakes are.
The last chapter is "You Can't Do Worse Than This" is made up of stories of disastrous experiences from various public speakers. The chapter is exceptionally insightful and entertaining. Perhaps the funniest story was when Larry Lessig was invited to be a guest at a conference in Georgia (as in Eastern Europe) and after the introduction, was unexpectedly told that he was to give a one-hour talk comparing the German, French and American constitutions, with special insights for Georgia.
Overall, Confessions of a Public Speaker is a very well-written, entertaining and engaging overview of the art of public speaking. For those that are contemplating public speaking, or want to improve their current aptitude, it is impossible that after reading the book, they won't be a better speaker. For those that simply want to know what goes into, and what makes a really good presentation, Confessions of a Public Speaker is also a worthwhile book to read.
Ben Rothke is the author of Computer Security: 20 Things Every Employee Should Know.
You can purchase Confessions of a Public Speaker from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Public speaking and girls (Score:5, Interesting)
One thing everyone should also always remember is that you will usually suck at things when trying the first time. Public Speaking fear comes mostly from the lack of experience and that if you fail at something during it, lots of people will notice as they're all watching you.
Like with everything else, humor helps. If you fail, laugh or joke it off and continue. It's not really a big deal.
It's pretty much the same thing when people on their teenage years (and later if it's a really hot girl) fear talking to them. They think it's going to ruin their world. Once you've got used to messing up with girls, hot girls too, you will notice it's not really a big deal. Laugh at it, she probably will do. If you're scared of that, fail with a girl intentionally to see how she responds. It's quite an eye-opener and you will not really fear failing again. It's ok, and public speaking and talking with random girls is successful only if you can also fail successfully and continue.
Re:Public speaking and girls (Score:5, Funny)
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I have seen a few gaffs, but 'lost'? Never saw that. Never saw him totally lock up on a question and start in with the ums and ahhs. Or saw him turn and attack the impromptu questioner because the answer was 'hard'.
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One thing everyone should also always remember is that you will usually suck at things when trying the first time. Public Speaking fear comes mostly from the lack of experience and that if you fail at something during it, lots of people will notice as they're all watching you.
I'm stealing this line for the opening of my next presentation.
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': Look out! Here comes an 's'! (Score:4, Insightful)
An apostrophe is not used to signal "look out! here comes an 's'".
Sorry, but a book review is no place for grammatical errors. Furthermore, if you ever hope to get published in the wider world... making a generic term out of a trademarked name is a big no-no. They are not Powerpoints... they are Powerpoint presentations... I know you used the correct term in part of your review, why not in all of it?
I knw this isn't really a forum for critique of your writing style... but that blatant misuse of the apostrophe is glaring so brightly I had trouble reading the rest of your review.
Re:': Look out! Here comes an 's'! (Score:5, Funny)
In most cases, the apostrophe is used to replace a space followed by a letter. For example, in the word "they're" the apostrophe replaces a space followed by the letter "a" in the original "they are". In the word "it's" the apostrophe replaces a space followed by "i" from the original "it is."
In the non-possessive form of "PowerPoint's", the apostrophe is obviously intended to replace a space followed by the word "presentation".
It's not a grammatical error, it's an error in conflicting substitution tables. :)
Re:': Look out! Here comes an 's'! (Score:5, Interesting)
I did let my speech teacher know my frustrations with her in a not so subtle fashion. For our midterm we were required to formulate an argument and list points supporting it. My argument was that she was a horrible speech teacher and should be fired, but since I made all my points in the required format, I got an A.
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The only thing I'd like to note about the required note format for speech class -- there may have been a reason for it other than "it makes it easy to read for the teacher". The teacher may have been using the format as a grading proxy for your understanding of the organization of the material, or for some other reason. When I t
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A test is a class assignment. A paper is a class assingment. Turing notes into a class assignment--and especially mandating a specific format for notes--is counter-productive: it prevents students from taking notes in a format conducive to their learning. Notes are not a paper or a test: they're things for the student's reference.Requiring that a student takes notes is rarely harmful--I've known a few people who do can't focus on the lecture and take notes at the same time, but most people would surely bene
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It sounds like you're almost proud of this story, or at least feel justified in your conduct. If I misinterpreted that part, sorry in advance, but...
That's a terrible thing to do to a teacher, or anybody, really. I think you acted inappropriately, and displayed an incredible lack of maturity for someone old enough and sophisticated enough to be in college.
Also, you're flat-out wrong about whether having notes in the correct format is important. Would you get pissy with your Calculus teacher because she insi
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You missed the point, double, here. Imagine that--Slashdot is full of people with authority problems so bad that their reading skills have suffered! Who'd'a thunk it?
If I'm writing a solution to an assignment question, I write it in the standard format so that others (specifically, the marker) can read it.
Ever heard the phrase "Show your work"? In every math class I've taken since I was 9 years old (including college), the instructor specifically warned us that we needed to document the entire reasoning pro
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You are missing the point entirely, in calculus the validity of how you derived your answers is as important as the answer, how you organize your notes is not at all important in a speech(references are and I handed those over in the correct format).
News flash, son: Your actual speech performance was only part of the goal of that speech class. Your mastery of the techniques of constructing your speech was just as important. That's why the teacher docked you: To be graded, you must demonstrate knowledge of t
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Sorry, but a book review is no place for grammatical errors.
...
I knw this isn't really a forum for critique of your ...
A rant about grammatical errors is probably not the place for spelling errors, either.
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The GP poster would do well to learn some neuroscience, the way the mind misretrieve's or misuses information is in a predictable manner.
They're and their and there, you can have someone meaning to say "there" and they type "their" and this is done *unconsciously and automatically* and beyond the persons awareness. These are common neurological errors in a persons brain due to the way they are wired. I constantly make the same mistakes over and over again and you just have to live with the fact that some
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That's completely fal'se.
Learn the difference (Score:2)
I don't remember where I heard this but, it's very important
This is /. (Score:5, Funny)
We don't get out in public enough to worry about public speaking.
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Well, OK, then this book might help when speaking to a large group in an IRC channel.
Re:This is /. (Score:4, Interesting)
In my former life (before programming), I was in academic debate and competitive speech. I wasn't incredibly successful, but I won a fair amount. Those skills really do serve me well as a programmer. They allow me to communicate with stakeholders without a bunch of "ums", sweaty palms, and the inability to complete a sentence without using 3 acronyms.
That skill extends to interviewing - a form of speaking. It's all about knowing what your audience hears, and how they interpret the messages they hear. (Even the most intelligent MBA or lawyer thinks "giant piece of yarn" when a programmer says "big string" or "car-wash is busy" when they hear "buffer overflow".) I've been told my interviewing ability has gotten me jobs when my competition included programmers who were far more talented than I.
Even among programmers, you need to learn to speak. The programmers that sit in their cubicle, head in a terminal, are the ones who are boo-hooing when they lose their job. Want to build your career? Speak at public functions like user group meetings for your technology. (No, your Blogspot page isn't the same thing, and neither is your YouTube channel that has 4 subscribers.) You establish yourself as an expert, a go to guy (or girl). In this "recession", post-dot-com bust, and post-9/11, I never went without work, and over 50% of it came through networking from my user group participation. These days, I'm a full time consultant; I have a box of business cards on my desk, but they're just taking up room, as I don't need to hand them out. Ditto on my web site - I haven't updated it, because I have zero need for marketing. All due to being willing to step out and speak publicly.
You don't want to do that? "I'm a geek, and am happy to stay in my comfort zone.." Fine. While you're working on your WoW characters, I'm giving presentations. You can have your mod points; I'll take your job. Just remember to call me "Sir" when you're handing me my receipt at Best Buy.
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I'll take this first moment to just clearly point out my jab was simply a humorous one aimed at the stereotypical "IT Nerd" culture and was not meant as anything more than that; a simple joke.
Onto my rebuttal.
Different tasks call for different tools though. And not everyone is the same. Seeing as it sounds like you willingly participated in academic debate and competitive speech, it sounds more like you were more of a natural public speaker. Mind you, everyone has their doubts when they first start out, but
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I agree that it's a personality thing - and don't get me wrong, I'm a natural introvert. However, shyness is a disposition, not a fate. There are plenty of professional athletes who didn't make the team their first time in high school - they developed the skills to get what they wanted. Speaking ability can be a natural gift, but if it isn't, you can develop it. My point is that if you don't choose to develop it, you're still making a choice - to place yourself at a disadvantage to those who can.
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That was you!!!! You bastard!
For those that use Powerpoint... (Score:4, Informative)
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having something to say helps (Score:4, Insightful)
The biggest problem I've found with public speaking is that often the speaker really does not want to be giving a talk, and so it's kind of forced. Sure, they may be interesting people with a lot to say, but for this 30-minute, or 60-minute, or whatever it is slot, they've been assigned to do it, or are doing it for money, or are doing it for some other reason besides, "really have something I want to say to this audience".
I see this a lot as an academic--- in computer science, conferences have in a lot of areas displaced journals as the primary publication venues, so people mainly submit to a conference to get their paper published in the proceedings. Then the conference rolls around, and they have a 20- or 30-minute slot to fill. Some people really have something to say in that slot, but others, whether through inclination or the subject matter, really don't, and give essentially a very long and drawn-out version of, "just read the damn paper".
Of course, some technical improvements to talks---use of figures, non-monotone voice, etc.---can make them more engaging, but it doesn't really solve the underlying problem. In the academic-conference case, it basically transforms a boring 20-minute ad for the paper into a somewhat amusing 20-minute ad for the paper--- but still not a good talk.
Re:having something to say helps (Score:4, Insightful)
I think the best advice I ever saw on presentations was to start with asking, "What's my goal? What am I trying to accomplish here?" A lot of people's goal is to "talk about [foo]", and that's exactly what they do: they put a bunch of [foo] on slides, and talk about it. The thing is, they could have done that in their basement and been successful. Your goal in giving a talk with other people present should be to change the listener somehow: to inform them of something, to help them understand something, to persuade them of something, to entertain them, to make them think. Otherwise they didn't really need to be there.
The last two conference presentations I've done, after a "hook" intro, I put up a "goals" slide, and said, "At the end of this presentation, I want you to know that..." and I had three or four points. Then I put up my outline; "To do that, I'm going to talk about these subjects." Then, away we go. Cover the material, but only the material that is necessary to reach those goals presented at the beginning. Other material can be found in the paper. Then at the end, put up the outline slide to review, and end with the goals slide to remind them (and myself, as I'm preparing) what my point was.
Explicitly listing the goals isn't suitable for every talk, but having goals (stated or not) is a prerequisite for any effective talk.
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Good point, but I think more important is to ask not what is my goal but "what is the audience's goal?"
You can give a first class presentation with a very clearly defined goal, but if that goal is not the one the audience came along with then you are wasting your time.
Most of the crappy presentations I have to attend are crappy mainly because they are telling me a load of stuff I have absolutely no interest in, and they don't answer the issues I really want to know about.
Join Toastmasters (Score:2, Insightful)
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Re:Join Toastmasters (Score:5, Insightful)
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Toastmasters is an organization that helps people become better public speakers. (Linky [toastmasters.org])
I've never gone to a meeting, but I know a few people that have and they say it's really improved their speaking skills.
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We Toastmasters definitely know how to party.
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I was actually the Facilities Chair and A/V geek for the District 53 conference in Saratoga Springs NY last month. Loads of fun. It was my first District Conference, and I got a lot more enjoyment out of it than I expected.
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I've been in Toastmasters over 8 years. What was just described in the review of this book, a person could learn in presenting and receiving feedback in three to six speeches (six weeks to six months depending on your initiative). As a long term educational and development program, Toastmasters can go into much more depth as well. The main strength of Toastmasters is that it provides a safe place to practice, receive friendly support and receive accurate, helpful
I came here to say that... (Score:2)
That's what I came here to say. If you're afraid of public speaking, they can help. Only warning is that, if you have a small enough group (mine was ~20 people), you WILL end up talking. They're nice, though, and they'll help you start thinking on your feet, which is great for any time you're unexpectedly asked to address a crowd for ~5 minutes.
In terms of giving a longer speech, though, you really have to think about your goals. I used to teach basic internet use & word processor use to old people a
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As part of the Advanced Communicator Gold achievement, you have to present a seminar which is 4-8 hours depending upon your subject. If you train at any Toastmasters Learning Institute, you're speaking for 45-60 minutes. If you use one of the advanced manuals such as Discussion Leader, each project is 20-40 minutes.
Aside from this are the advanced clubs that focus on professional speaking, the Accredit
Style and Fun (Score:4, Interesting)
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For class I gave a speech on kayaking. I began the speech with, "This is my paddle. There are many others like it but this one is mine..."
Another speech was about Linux. Most of the audience (classmates) knew nothing about linux, so I menti
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"What's in it for me?" That is what will be going through your audience's mind throughout your speech/presentation. If you do not give them value and something to take away, you've wasted their time.
Plus people remember stories. They won't remember the bullet chart, the acronym or hardly any of the technical terms you say, but tell them a story that ties it together and they'll remember it for a long, long time.
Fear of death... (Score:2)
I remember a statistic claiming that more people are afraid of public speaking than of death - I don't know if it was a real stat or a metaphor to demonstrate and make a point, but it's a valid one. Most people suck at it because they are afraid of it. In many ways the only way to deal with it effectively is to face the fear and conquer it.
I am really glad to see books like this on /. - keep up with the good content guys!
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I don't know if it was a real stat or a metaphor to demonstrate and make a point, but it's a valid one.
I wouldn't trust a statistic I didn't make up either.
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Hahahah! And Jerry is never wrong!
Advice to the Shy (Score:3, Interesting)
If you are shy and afraid of public speaking, don't despair. Anyone can learn public speaking -- even the shy.
I speak from experience. I was profoundly, painfully shy as a child, as a teenager, into my adult years. At the age of nineteen, I looked at my shyness and said to myself, "I want something more." So I set challenges for myself: "Go to parties and meet people." "Get up on stage and sing." And so on. This was not easy, but I made myself do it. Over the years (I'm now approaching 49) these skills gradually became second nature to me.
Shyness continues to inform my character: I'm still something like what I was before. But I'm also something more than what I was before: I'm a man who can stand up in front of strangers (or friends, for that matter), and hold forth on this or that subject, without the fear and agony that accompanied my childhood shyness.
Indeed, public speaking can be a rush. Turn that fear into an adrenaline buzz! You can do it.
know your audience! (Score:5, Funny)
...before imagining them naked.
For instance, if you are speaking at the adult video entertainment awards, very little imagination is needed.
If you are conducting a bariatric surgery seminar for octogenarians, you may experience extensive psychological damage.
And if you are speaking at a kindergarten read-along, well that just might result in jail time
what? no jobs mention?! (Score:1)
Uh...just don't..uh..make this...uh...mistake (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Uh...just don't..uh..make this...uh...mistake (Score:5, Insightful)
Uh...just don't...uh...keep unconsciously...uh...saying...uh...annoying words...uh....throughout...uh...your...uh...speech.
So this. Simply pause and collect your thoughts rather than use filler words like "uh" and "um". Think of it as buffering a video clip. Everyone would prefer a slight pause and then smooth playback over constant skips.
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What do you have against Utility Helicopters? [wikipedia.org]
Having Heard Berkun Speak... (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't think he's qualified to write this book. He's not a very good public speaker.
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While his experiences may have some tips for future or present speakers, I certainly hope no one is relying on this book as their only source for public speaking.
My own take (Score:3, Funny)
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Matt Foley is a very successful speaker.
* He made a lasting impression on his audience. Everyone remembers him.
* He actually conveyed the point he was trying to make.
* He successfully handled unexpected mishaps, like breaking a coffee table.
Dale Carnegie's book (Score:4, Informative)
I first read "The quick and easy way to effective speaking" by Dale Carnegie over 10 years ago (probably through reading amazon reviews). It was excellent then. It is excellent now. It will still be great in a hundred years time. If you have to read one book, read that one.
As long as public speech is judged by an audience of humans, the principles of engaging and holding human interest will remain unchanged even with advances in technology. A riveting public speaker is riveting without the aid of graphs, powerpoint, and especially - powerpoint animations, and they have been for thousands of years. No magical powerpoint animations are going to help the public speaker who doesn't look the audience in the eye, who doesn't know his subject matter, who is not interested in his topic, who has not thought about how to find something in his topic that relates to the audience, who has not considered how to plan his speech so that the structure leads his audience to understanding, and who does not gauge audience understanding as he goes along to prevent "losing them".
Things that helped me (Score:5, Informative)
First you need to know your material. It's not so much a presentation as it's a one sided discussion. The more conversational you are the more you draw that audience in.
Second don't put a ton of stuff on your slides. I can't even count how many Keynote decks I've seen that the presenter just reads to the audience. A good concept to have about slides is that they are an outline with points of emphasis for the discussion. The screen isn't giving the presentation, you are!
Third on the list is to make it fun. Take an easy dig at yourself as it always loosens them up. A really easy potshot is to make fun of end users. If you are presenting to sysadmins this is an instant win. Also strive to make things interactive. Ask questions of the audience that get them to raise a show of hands. It keeps people engaged.
Next get a presentation remote and walk around the stage/screen. You can be much more physically emotive if you aren't nailed to a lectern the whole time. If it's a big enough room you will need to do this so that you don't loose the people that are far away from you.
Finally, just be confident. You are presenting because someone thinks that what you have to say is important. Take that vote of confidence and run with it.
One last tip is to watch effective speakers give presentations. They are easy to find on the web from YouTube or TED. In my group we actually will often record our own presentations and then watch them later in order to pick up places to improve. This is a game that you can always keep improving.
Powerpoint (Score:2)
Wow man, this is a fascinating subject! Do you think you could tell us a little more about your theory, maybe using a couple of Powerpoint slides with animation? For bonus points, just stand up there and read the text on the slides to us.
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It must be better than this book (Score:2)
At the research group I worked for almost 6 years we were more or less required to read these books by Ad Lagendijk [amazon.co.uk]. His style is quite authoritive: you must do this, you must never do that, etc. I didn't read the book because of that. All of the things that are in the book I learned during the years I worked there. It's a pity that the tone of the book is a bit over the top because his tips are very good.
Plethora (Score:2)
I saw the first sentence starting with "While there is a plethora of..." and rolled my eyes, and then died laughing when I saw it as a story tag. Thanks to whomever caused that laugh, it was appreciated.
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ok, help us out... whats so funny?
My reaction was to start chanting "Bulbous buffont, macadamia, gazebo".
From the Bulbous Buffant sketch by the Vestibules. Played occasionally on Dr. Demento.
Galoshes. Mukluks. Blubber. Beluga. Plethora. Bamboozle. Igloo. Spatula. Shindig. Hullaballo. Foible. BUS!
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For me, it would have to be this segment from The Three Amigos:
Jefe: I have put many beautiful pinatas in the storeroom, each of them filled with little suprises.
El Guapo: Many pinatas?
Jefe: Oh yes, many!
El Guapo: Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?
Jefe: A what?
El Guapo: A *plethora*.
Jefe: Oh yes, you have a plethora.
El Guapo: Jefe, what is a plethora?
Jefe: Why, El Guapo?
El Guapo: Well, you told me I have a plethora. And I just would like to know if you know what a plethora is. I would not like to t
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Actually, it's taken me about 10 years to read about 50 pages of Finnegans Wake. Who knows - maybe I'll finish it one day?
What do apostrophes have to do with Finnegans Wake? Well, there isn't one in the title. It's not about a wake in honour of someone named Finnegan. Rather, it's a wake up call to those people JJ classes as 'Finnegans'. Or something.
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A few tricks and war stories (Score:2, Interesting)
I found an easy solution to the resounding silence that sometimes happens, especially with uptight audiences, when you leave a nice big block of time for questions, close the monologue, then wait with rising anxiety for the hands to go up... umm... anyone? I now deliberately leave out a few fundamentals that everybody wants to know. By the time the floor is open for questions, hands shoot up for the FAQ, and snappy well-oiled answers get the room warmed up for the good stuff. Works even with the stuffies
My handy hints (Score:5, Informative)
Here are my handy hints from having given a number of talks and lecture courses:
Max Atkinson (Score:1)
Whenever speech-making hits the news (party conference season) Max Atkinson [blogspot.com] seems to be the UK media's favourite talking head.
o_o (Score:1)
Here's some practical advise (Score:2)
Much BS has been written about public speaking but if you just do it you'll find it's no big deal. And once you get going and find your rhythm, you can look at all of the people who are hanging on every of your words and realize yo
Why didn't anyone write comments about the book? (Score:1)
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I'm slightly less positive.... (Score:1)
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--Democratic Party.