I am one of the co-founders of Presentation Guru, a digital magazine for public speaking professionals. This post is about books for public speakers and is part of a series designed to share the great content on Presentation Guru with the Manner of Speaking community. ——— There are hundreds of books about public speaking and presentation
As I write this post, my wife and I are approximately three weeks into a massive effort to tidy up our home. This is no ordinary, annual clean-up; this is a methodical full-on assault to go through all of our possessions and really decide what we need or want, and
I want to wish all readers Happy New Year. I hope that 2017 is a happy, healthy and successful one for you and for those whom you hold dear. If you are a regular visitor to this blog, you might have noticed that my stream of posts has recently dried
Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was published in 1974. The book has sold more than 5 million copies and is widely considered a modern philosophical classic. In Zen, Pirsig discusses the metaphysics of quality. He explores the subject over the course of a 17-day motorcycle journey acros the western United States with
I am currently in the middle of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography, Total Recall. It is a fascinating read that offers great insights into the focus, drive and work ethic of the man. Schwarzenegger is not perfect, and he has made his share of mistakes, but his achievements in bodybuilding, real estate, business, acting, politics and
I am a big fan of stand-up comedy. I have enormous respect for the men and women—whether professionals or amateurs—who get up on stage and do their best to make us laugh. And though I like many comedians, my all-time favourite is, and will always be, Steve Martin. I discovered Steve
In “The Elements of Eloquence”, Mark Forsyth takes us through 39 chapters, each one devoted to a specific rhetorical device. Forsyth has a writing style that make you feel as though you are chatting with a friend over a beer. (And when good friends get together for a beer, what else do they talk about besides rhetoric?) He also has a wry, and often wicked, sense of humour.
I recently finished Open, the autobiography of Andre Agassi. It is a terrific book and is one of the best autobiographies that I have ever read. I highly recommend it. The title of the book could not be more appropriate. Agassi truly does open up his life—the good, the bad
Jack Vincent says that when you make a sales pitch, you are not there to close a deal; you are there to open a relationship. That one sentence captures the essence of Jack’s book on sales: Sales Pitches that Snap, Crackle ‘n Pop. Written in a punchy, wry, engaging style,
