Confessions Of A Public Speaker Book Summary | By Scott Berkun

The best book I’ve discovered about public speaking. If you wish to speak better, or boost your confidence speaking, this is for you.

“The idea of perfection must be the first thing to leave if you want to be good at something.”

**Confessions of a Public Speaker Book Summary**

Summarized Notes

“Be aware that how you react to a mistake affects how the audience reacts. The audience will view it and me as a tragedy if I react to getting water on my jeans as though the Titanic had sunk. Yet, if I’m cool or, even better, think it humorous, the audience will too.

When a good speaker is finished, they frequently discover that there have been four different versions of their speech: the one they gave, the one they planned, the one the press said they gave, and the one they wished they had given on the way home.

Never anticipate using the entire allotted time.

Also, speakers frequently focus on topics that are unrelated to what their audience cares about. They seek entertainment. They desire education. They mostly want you to succeed. While performing, there are many faults you can make that won’t stop those things from happening. The errors you commit before you even speak are more significant. They include failing to have a compelling viewpoint, failing to consider your arguments carefully, and failing to devise strategies for making your arguments relevant to your audience. They are the ones that are significant.

“You deprive yourself of the natural energy your body is giving you if you pretend to have no anxieties of public speaking. Anxiety provides a form of energy you can employ, just as excitement does. “The body’s reaction to fear and enthusiasm is the same… so it becomes a mental decision: am I terrified or am I excited?” said stand-up comedian and motivational speaker Ian Tyson.

But I don’t memorise anything, and I don’t try to become excellent. I would sound like a robot or, worse, like someone who was making a valiant effort to speak in a precise, particular, and wholly artificial manner, both of which people would be able to tell right away. My goal is to just become really comfortable with my subject matter by knowing it thoroughly. The objective is confidence, not perfection.

“The self-assurance that comes with practise makes it feasible to improvise and respond to unexpected situations that can arise during the discussion, such as hecklers, difficult questions, bored audiences, or equipment malfunctions,” says the author.

“Some techniques to lessen physical stress comprise:

Getting there early to avoid having to rush
Doing technical and audio rehearsals before to your start time
Moving about the stage will make your body feel secure.

Taking a seat in the crowd to get a sense of what they will physically see
Eating before your speak but not just before it so that you won’t be starving
Speaking to a few audience members before you begin (if it suits you), so that there are no longer any strangers around (friends are less inclined to try to devour you),

“By acknowledging that we speak in public on a regular basis, we may reduce the majority of these worries. As the typical person speaks 15,000 words every day, you are already proficient at public speaking.

“I came to the conclusion that the size of the crowd is unimportant; what matters is having a dense crowd. Do whatever it takes to encourage the audience to move as a unit if you ever have to perform in front of a small crowd.

“As you organise your speech, focus on achieving the objectives outlined below. People arrive as a result of:

wishing to get knowledge
Want to be motivated Hoping to be amused
have a need they’re hoping you can fulfil
Want to connect with individuals who share their interest in the topic Look for rewarding experiences to share with others
are required to attend by their employers, parents, teachers, or spouses.
To be well-prepared

Put some weight behind your title.
Consider your targeted audience carefully.
Make sure to state your views clearly and succinctly.
Be aware of potential opposition from a knowledgeable audience.

“According to Seattle Pacific University’s Brain Center director and molecular scientist John Medina, most people can focus on most topics for a maximum of 10 minutes. In his bestselling book Brain Rules (Pear Publishing), Medina devotes a whole chapter applying this idea to the issues of teaching – the 10-minute rule is at the foundation of how he arranges his lectures. He never spends more than 10 minutes on a single issue, and he takes sure to build the entire presentation around a sequence of points he knows the audience is interested in hearing. Boredom can be avoided for an hour with proper research on the audience’s interests and a 10-minute time limit.

I can tell you that I have five points to discuss with you and 30 minutes to talk. I’ll talk about each issue for five minutes, leaving the rest for questions. It takes approximately 10 seconds to say that, but for that short cost—and because everyone in the room is aware of the strategy—I still have their full attention.

“The tension I stated earlier: problem and solution — is the easiest kind to generate and then release. You’ll do well if your talk consists of a number of the audience’s concerns that you vow to address one at a time in order to relieve the tension they have caused.

Participate the audience:

requesting a show of hands
Give them a trivia test.
Give them a challenge to overcome.
“Everyone who supports a rule is reengaged when that rule is put into effect. You regain control of the situation and win the audience’s respect. Hence, don’t be afraid to cut off a ranting individual, stop the man talking on his cell phone, and enter the table where someone is holding a quiet but obtrusive chat. You will be a hero if you are kind and direct.

Always prepare and practise early endings.

To identify any issues with a presentation, record yourself giving it on video.

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