Public Speaking and Presentation Skills – Resources

Here are 3 resources from Chapter 5: Public Speaking and Presentations Skills:

Clear and to the Point: 8 Psychological Principles for Compelling PowerPoint Presentations by Stephen M. Kosslyn

Why? Kosslyn is a renowned cognitive neuroscientist and professor of psychology at Harvard University. This book provides eight simple principles for designing a presentation based upon human perception, memory, and cognition. While rooted in science, this book provides practical advice. It includes hundreds of images and sample slides that illustrate the principles. If you use PowerPoint as a regular part of your job, you MUST read this book.

Speaking Mastery—The Keys to Delivering High Impact Presentations by David and Michael Hutchison

Why? This book offers real-world advice for delivering high impact speeches or presentations. Speaking Mastery covers how to deliver your message, develop your content, and build the “internal muscles” to be a great public speaker.

TED.com

Why? TED Talks will inspire, teach, shock, fascinate, amaze, and impress you. There are over 1,900 videos (averaging approximately 18 minutes each) of some of the best public speakers in the world. Watch, learn, and prepare to be amazed.

Reading List: The GO-Giver

The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea

by Bob Burg and John David Mann

Why? is is a superbly written parable whose main message is that in business, as in life, it is better to give than to receive. e Go-Giver is both inspirational and aspirational as you build your professional network. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Reading List – Managing Brand You: Seven Steps to Creating Your Most Successful Self By Jerry S. Wilson and Ira Blumenthal

Why read this book? The seven steps in this book provide a roadmap for creating “Brand YOU” by employing the same concepts used in traditional commercial brand management such as brand attributes, brand essence, brand image, and brand insistence. Step one includes a brand audit to assess your current state and the book concludes with step seven, a detailed action plan to implement your Brand YOU. The authors have worked with some of the best brands on the planet including Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, Delta Airlines, and Marriott.

Reading List: To Sell Is Human – The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel Pink

Why read this book? Ranked a top seller by the New York Times, Washington Post and e Wall Street Journal, To Sell is Human explains sales 108 in a way that applies to everyone—in every field. Pink, the author of Drive and A Whole New Mind, is an exceptional writer and lays out a convincing argument as to why “moving others” is a critically important skill in your career and your life.

Reading List: Eat at Frog

Eat That Frog

by Brian Tracy

Why read this book? Written by the international best-selling author and leader in professional development, Eat at Frog will help you jump- start your professional development (or any other task in your work) with twenty-one proven methods and techniques. These methods are integral to accelerating your career: #7 Focus on Key Result Areas, #10 Take It One Oil Barrel at a Time, #11 Upgrade Your Skills, #13 Identify Your Key Constraints, #21 Single Hand Every Task.

Reading List: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

Why read this book? This best-selling book about punctuation entertains while it educates. The English language is complex and punctuation can intentionally (or unintentionally) add meaning to a word. Consider the book’s title, “Eats, Shoots & Leaves” or an alternative “Eats Shoots & Leaves”—not a subtle difference. Punctuation is too easy to get right. You don’t want a mistake here.

Reading List: Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment

Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment

by George Leonard

Why read this book? This book is a bit esoteric, but I’ve included it here because “practice” and “mastery” are at the core of accelerating your career experience. I first learned of Leonard’s book through my own Aikido practice and really admire his Yoda-like lessons. These lessons transcend career and include all aspects of life.

Reading List: Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better

Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better

by Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway, Katie Yezzi

Why read this book? If you question the value of practice in your career, this is a MUST read. Many of the rules will show you how to set up practice routines for skills where the solution is not obvious. Rules most applicable to accelerating your career experience include: #1 Encode Success, #4 Unlock Creativity . . . With Repetition, #7 Differentiate Drill From Scimmage, #9 Analyze the Game, and #10 Isolate the Skill.

Reading List: How to Really Used LinkedIn by Jan Vermeiren

 

Why read the book? This book is written for a broad audience—from the LinkedIn novice to the advanced user—and includes instruction on using the tool and detailed strategies for creating your profile, building your own professional network, and engaging with groups. You can download a full copy of the book for free and access tools, videos, webinars, and self-assessment tools.

Reading List – The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business

The Power of Habits: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business

by Charles Duhigg

Why you should read this book? You will dive deep into the science of habits and learn how to harness the power of habits to accelerate your career experience. Duhigg, an award winning business journalist, also explores institutional habits and the idea of keystone habits that can be used to turn around organizations like Alcoa, the Fortune 500 manufacturing company, or products like P&G’s Febreze air freshener.