When Jim O'Rourke first asked me to write this forward I was honored; then I began to work on it and I was stymied. Why did we need one more book on public speaking? What more can possibly be said on the subject that's not already been said? Yet, as I finished the book you are about to begin, I came to a 52nd truth about confident speaking: reading this brief book will improve your abilities here. Okay, reading and implementing what's contained here will improve your abilities.

Professor O'Rourke has codified in plain, straightforward, practical lessons the keys to confident speaking. Do not let this book's short chapters deceive you; his lessons may appear simple, but they are not easy. O'Rourke has packed a great deal of content into each chapter, honoring your time as a reader and getting to the point quickly. I never saw the first edition, but look forward to sharing this edition with my students, colleagues and clients.

In the decade since its first printing, some elements of confident speaking have gotten easier. Emulating good speakers (Truth 4) has never been easier with the proliferation of TED talks and YouTube playlists in virtually every field of study. While, simultaneously, the existence of smart phones within reach of every member of your audience makes keeping your audience interested (Truth 28) even harder to accomplish than ever before.

Yet all of the advances we've seen have not dimmed the need for this book. As we become more connected and more mobile, we continue to yearn all the more for leaders with whom we can connect, personally delivering messages we can embrace.

I believe each reader will draw different lessons from the 51 truths contained here; that's expected. We each have a different set of strengths and needs when it comes to presenting. As you read, I'd advise keeping a quick tally of which truths serve as reminders of skills you already possess and need to reinforce and which ones represent skills you know are weak for you and need to be shored up. Early in your preparation for a talk, you may want to focus on the “confounding truths” which vex you but then, closer to a talk, a quick review of your personal “confirming truths” may be just the ticket to nail that next presentation.

Conclusions are one of the most important (and most welcome) portions of any presentation. Why are they important? Well, for one thing, they offer one more opportunity to put your best evidence or most important ideas before your audience. They represent one last chance to say what you really mean, to reinforce your purpose for speaking and to ask for their support or compliance. Conclusions also provide the audience with a sense of logical and emotional closure.

Like introductions, conclusions serve a number of purposes:

Your conclusion signals the audience that the presentation is about to end. A presentation is a journey of sorts for your audience, and you are their guide. It's important that you signal or cue them when you've come to the final portion of the talk. You might want to use a word or phrase that alerts them that you're about to finish: “finally,” “in conclusion,” “let me sum up by saying …,” “as we bring this to a close,” or “let me close by saying … .”

That's also the appropriate moment to adjust your pacing, tone, pitch and rhythm to indicate that this presentation is just about done. Don't fall prey to the temptation to keep speaking, though. Nothing is more annoying at that point to the audience than a speaker who says, “in conclusion,” and then takes another 20 minutes to finish. An audience is forgiving of many things, but not of a speaker who overstays his welcome.

Your conclusion will help to summarize your main points. As a U.S. Air Force officer, I had the opportunity to deliver a number of mission-related briefings to various people. Those presentations were intended to be cogent, informative, to the point and useful to the audience. The advice from my commanders was always the same: “Tell them what you're going to tell ‘em. Tell ‘em. Then tell ‘em what you just told ‘em.” Preview, main body and conclusion in three short sentences. It's not bad advice, actually. Especially the part about “telling them what you told them.” A solid summary provides your audience with a review of your main points (in order), their motivations for learning about 29 and acting on them, and a final appeal which exhorts them to action.

How important is an introduction? Just ask Tufts University psychologist Nalini Ambady. She and a colleague videotaped 13 graduate teaching fellows as they taught their classes. She then took three random 10-second clips from each tape, combined them into one 30-second clip for each teacher and showed the silent clips to students who did not know the teachers. The students rated the instructors on 13 variables, such as “accepting,” “active,” “competent” and “confident.” Ambady combined these individual scores into one rating for each instructor and then correlated that rating with the teachers’ end-of-semester evaluation from actual students.

“We were shocked at how high the correlation was,” she said. “It was 0.76. In social psychology, anything above 0.6 is considered very strong.” Curious to see how thin she could make the video slices before affecting the students’ accuracy, Professor Ambady cut the length of the silent clips to 15 seconds, then to 6. Each time, the students accurately predicted the most successful teachers.

In his best-selling book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, author Malcom Gladwell explains at length how quick, first impressions are not only lasting, but frequently quite accurate. Although listeners sometimes make mistakes, particularly if they're focused on the wrong things at first, it's certainly true that they make judgments that are both durable and very powerful in forming lasting impressions of the speaker and the subject.

Introductions serve a number of other functions in addition to creating an opportunity for listeners to form first impressions. At a primary level, a speech introduction arouses the audience's attention and provides them with an incentive to listen. It also can provide some background on the speaker, the occasion and the reasons for the speech itself. If you're introduced by someone else, of course, they'll do that for you. They'll also give the audience a chance to settle down, arrange their coats, briefcases, backpacks and coffee cups, and perhaps turn off their cell phones. In the early moments of an introduction, very few people are paying close attention to anything other than the fact that the 26 presentation has begun. And that's fine, that's one of the purposes of an introduction.

In most organizations today, PowerPoint is the de facto program for business presentations. It's also increasingly used for business reporting because business readers have little time for lengthy reports or memos. PowerPoint requires an author to be both succinct and to the point.

PowerPoint dominates business communication for other reasons, as well: it's relatively easy to use; you can store and transmit your data or speech electronically; and you can easily project it to groups of almost any size, yet print it in hard copy on any printer, so it serves as a basic record of a talk or presentation.

But the program's strengths are also its weaknesses. Many commentators and experts complain about the use of cryptic bullet point lists, text-heavy paragraphs, meaningless clip art and data graphics that are all but impossible to decipher. Although PowerPoint may be easy to use, using it well is a challenge.

To get the full benefit of the program, a communicator must apply principles of good visual communication. A PowerPoint presentation reaches its full potential only when it captures and focuses the audience's attention, communicates information at a glance, and uses visual techniques to help the audience follow and understand the message.

To design an effective PowerPoint show, you must do three things:

The secret to creating a successful business presentation is preparation. While the process may seem daunting at first, it involves just twelve steps and a little determination.

Can I speak without visuals? Yes, of course. That's the basic difference between a public speaker and a narrator. Some speaking situations call for visual aids and you'll want to make certain that you illustrate the content of your speech appropriately. Other speaking occasions either don't require visual support or would be better served without it. I cannot imagine John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., or Winston Churchill using PowerPoint to illustrate a talk. They were, of course, political orators, not businessmen. But the point is the same: don't overdo the visual aids.

Some executives have been known to ban PowerPoint entirely from their company presentations. That seems like an overreaction, but you can easily understand how those feelings came about. A colleague showed me some discouraging written critiques of a presentation he gave to a supervisory development course: “Overhead avalanche,” read one. “Death by PowerPoint,” said another. My advice to him was simple: use fewer slides, make sure they reinforce only key points, and make certain you do not overdo the basics, including color, transitions, type fonts, motion or sound effects. These things are typically overwhelming or distracting for the audience.

Keep in mind that you may be the best visual of all. “Good leaders understand that they are the best visual,” says Judith Humphrey, president of The Humphrey Group, a Toronto-based firm that specializes in executive speech training. “They instinctively know that their message will come through best if the audience looks at them and listens to them— with no distractions.” Her recommendations include stepping out from behind the podium and making yourself a focal point of the speech. “If you are committed and engaged, the audience can see it in your face, in your gestures, in the way you walk, in the way you stand, in the way you hold your head high.”

“Here's the key,” says Humphrey. “Great speaking is really about great thinking. People can be persuaded by the passion you have for your ideas, but only if they can see you.” In a darkened room, she says, the audience is focused on the slides and not on you. “But, if you're willing to step forward, look them in the 45 eyes, and show your conviction for those ideas, people will be more inclined to believe you.”

While your reputation or the topic of your presentation may keep an audience with you for a while, you have a much better chance of convincing them of the value in your ideas if you support your talk with current, believable, easy-to-understand evidence.

Where to begin? Well, starting with your own experience, knowledge and interests is probably the best. If you are genuinely interested in the ideas you plan to present, your audience will pick up on that and respond accordingly. You will also know where to look for the most interesting, most believable support. If you like a particular subject, chances are good that you know which publications to read, know which experts are cited most often, and know a great deal about the latest developments. The confidence that comes with all of this information will not be lost on your audience.

Second, consider new ideas, information and techniques. You and your audience may together know a great deal about the subject of your talk, but they may not know about the very latest information. That's where your interests can help them. Bring them up-to-date on the subject, share the latest innovations and developments.

Next, as you consider how to support your speech, think about the availability and quality of support material. You may have a special topic that you simply can't support because you will not have access to the right information by the time you must speak.

Talk to some experts. Not all credible evidence is found in books, magazines, journals, newspapers or on the Internet. Some of the most interesting, compelling evidence comes in the form of direct testimony from people who are genuine experts on the subject. Where can you find them? They're all around you. A punch-press operator working on a factory shop floor may not seem especially expert, but if he's been at his job for a number of years, chances are good that he knows a great deal about the machinery, the materials and the processes involved in the 19 job. Ask him a few questions. You might be surprised how much you can learn if you listen carefully.

Being an active listener can enhance your life in numerous ways. Both academic and business-related research show that good listening skills provide various benefits, including increased knowledge, job success, improved personal relationships and self-protection, among others.

Studies of human behavior have shown a steady tendency during the last sixty years in the United States toward more passive learning techniques and more passive leisure activities. As a society, Americans spend more time watching television, movies and videos, and less time reading. Coincidentally, we also spend more time these days listening to streaming music, podcasts and online audio.

A study conducted by UNISYS Corporation reported that students spend 60 to 70 percent of their time in a classroom listening. Professors Ralph Nichols and Leonard Stevens found in their studies at the University of Minnesota that every group of students receiving instruction in listening improved by as much as 40 percent. Without some instruction in listening improvement, however, it appears that the listening abilities of most people actually decline from elementary school on.

In addition to these findings, a number of other good reasons exist for you to improve your listening skills.

Listening demonstrates acceptance. The very act of listening to another person demonstrates that you value him or her and care about what he or she is saying. If you show that you don't care about others, they'll quit talking to you. Good, perhaps, in the short run, but disastrous in the long term.

Listening promotes problem-solving abilities. Leaders, parents and managers are often asked to do what bartenders, cab drivers and counselors have done for years: give someone the time (and attention) to talk through a problem. Rather than providing advice and solutions 17 right away, most successful managers encourage employees to arrive at solutions on their own. By listening carefully and reflectively, you can guide someone else to a solution that has a greater chance for success and substantially greater levels of acceptance than if you provided the answer.

Listening increases the speaker's receptiveness to the thoughts and ideas of others. The best ideas don't always come from yourself or your immediate staff and colleagues. Often, you'll find great ideas where you least expect them. They may come from your customers, your employees, your suppliers and business partners, and (interestingly) from people who refuse to do business with you.

Here are six general outcomes of nonverbal communication that are important for every presenter to know.

Audience hostility generally comes in two forms: first, activities or actions on their part that may be distracting, annoying, rude or inconsiderate behavior. And second, audience members may have questions that challenge your authority, question your competence or are openly hostile to your subject or point of view. Let's deal with distractions first.

Late arrivals. Keep your promise to start on time, unless a key decision-maker is not yet in the room and starting without him would be pointless. If you start on time, you may find that some audience members arrive late and create a disturbance as they seek a seat and get settled. The best plan is generally to ignore all of that. They'll settle down in a few moments and you can move on. If the late arrival is an important person who deserves an update, you may wish to offer a very brief recap of key points you've discussed thus far, then move to your next point. Keep in mind that the majority of late arrivals are as embarrassed or self-conscious about the moment as you are.

Side conversations. Some audience-to-audience conversations are useful, as people help others in the room catch up or show them where to find certain information in your handouts. Other conversations, though, may be an indication that the audience is growing restless. If just two people in a conversation are a problem, you might try strolling closer to them without looking directly at them. As the audience begins to look in your direction as you move, the talkers will grow conscious that others are watching them, too, and likely will end the conversation.

If the audience is sending nonverbal signals that they're restless, unhappy or that their energy is flagging, you may need to provide them with a break for a few minutes. If that's not part of the presentation plan, you can acknowledge that there are other points of view or that some may disagree with the perspective you've offered. Then, tackle the disagreement head-on and explain why you chose a particular viewpoint.

Hostile or accusatory questions. If you receive questions from an 48 audience member that are openly hostile to you or to your material, address the issue that was raised and not the tone of the question.

Give some thought to how you'll begin your talk, because it may be among the most memorable aspects of the speech. The so-called primacy effect in psychology is a bias in the way people perceive and think about what they hear. Listeners are more likely to remember and believe what they hear first, rather than what they hear later on. This phenomenon is said to be due to the fact that short-term memory at the beginning of a sequence of events is far less “crowded” and, because there are fewer items being processed in the brain, there is more time for rehearsal, consolidation and storage of those events, which can later cause them to be transferred to long-term memory.

A good introduction takes advantage of the primacy effect by offering the most important and memorable aspects of the presentation in the first few minutes. The audience is eager to hear and think about your ideas. Don't disappoint them and don't waste time on issues that are unrelated to your reasons for speaking. So, how should you begin? Many proven methods are available to you as you begin a speech. You might consider these:

Begin with an anecdote. Tell a story. People have loved listening to stories since they were kids, waiting for bedtime. Ronald Reagan's success as a speaker, in part, was due to his ability to “spin a yarn.” Even those who disagreed with his politics acknowledged the importance storytelling played in his political life.

Try humor. People love to laugh, but be careful with this. Humor is great, unless you're not funny. Foremost among the occasions when you are likely not to be funny is when the joke is on the audience, or someone they hold in high regard. Spontaneous, contemporary humor tends to work best. Stay away from set-piece jokes and amusing stories you have heard recently.

Offer a prediction. Can you offer, based on the evidence you have gathered, a prediction that is likely to interest, amuse, frighten or arouse your audience? Make sure you can support your contentions. And, 27 make sure the evidence on which they are based is readily available and easily understood.

Behavioral scientists have known for many years that visual images can have a powerful effect on the process of learning. In some instances, the use of pictures may reach people who simply don't listen well to the spoken word, or who may not understand what the words mean.

Professor G. M. Ingersoll discovered in his studies at Penn State University that some people pay more attention to what they see than what they hear. That means, of course, that some people remember more of what they see, while others remember more of what they hear. The reasons for this phenomenon are complex and may have more to do with the way our brains are organized than our preferences for pictures or sound. In his experiments, Professor Ingersoll found that some people more quickly and readily recall information and concepts that had a visual component. Others were more tuned in to the spoken word.

The implication for public speakers seems clear: while visual information may serve to explain or reinforce spoken information, it may also reach a significant number of audience members who do not readily attend to, understand or remember the spoken word. Other behavioral scientists have found that a word plus a related picture combination is superior to either words or pictures alone.

So, what does this mean for you? Several things. First, research clearly shows that visual support will help to explain, reinforce and clarify the spoken word during a presentation. That means, if you can't say it easily, you can show it to your audience. The research clearly implies something important for all speakers. If some people pay more attention to what they see and others to what they hear, don't leave anyone out. Say it to them, show it to them and tell them where they can find more information.

Visual information tends to work best when you have new data for your audience, or when the information you hope to convey is complex or technical in nature. Visuals are also helpful if your message is 41 coming to them in a new context. Numbers, quick facts, quotes and lists frequently benefit from some form of visual display. And, unquestionably, showing your audience comparisons in visual form is easier than telling them and helps them to understand how one item compares to another over time or in cumulative effect.

No one gets to be a skilled or gifted public speaker by avoiding the experience. The best of speakers and presenters, in fact, are those who do it frequently and who enjoy it. It's never pleasant at first, of course, because you're still struggling with the basics of organization, evidence and delivery— not to mention adjusting to the audience, the occasion and the experience of being up there in front of all those people.

The truth about presenting, however, is that you'll get much better at it if you do it frequently. So, the advice here is simple: repeat the process as often as possible. Seek out opportunities to speak to your colleagues, friends, co-workers, clients, customers and others. Don't turn down an opportunity to give a presentation if your boss or friends should ask you to do just that.

Perhaps another lesson from behavioral psychology will help. It has long been known that behavior is affected by its consequences. We reward and punish people, for example, so that they will behave in ways that we consider desirable or appropriate. Edward L. Thorndike studied the effects of this consequence in a well-known experiment. He enclosed a cat in a box, but provided the possibility for escape, if the cat could figure out how the latch mechanism worked. The cat eventually moved the latch, which opened the door. When repeatedly enclosed in a box, the cat gradually stopped doing those things that had proven ineffective and eventually made the successful response very quickly.

Subsequent experiments by B. F. Skinner and others have shown that an animal's repeated success results in reinforcement of useful or desired behaviors, while unsuccessful (or painful) experiences will result in the extinction of behaviors that are neither useful nor productive. In essence, productive behaviors are reinforced, while negative or inconsequential behaviors are abandoned.

What do cats trying to escape from a box have to do with presenting? Well, humans react in much the same way as cats when confronted with stressful situations and each will exhibit behaviors that have 31 proven most useful or productive. If the speaker offers a pattern of organization that makes sense, or evidence that seems convincing, they reward the speaker with their attention, eye contact, engaged posture and more.

Harvard Business School Professor John Kotter studied a number of successful general managers over a fiveyear period and found that they spend most of their time with other people, including subordinates, their bosses and numerous others from outside the organization. His study found that the average manager spent just 25 percent of his or her time working alone. Most of that time with others, Kotter found, was spent talking and listening— and a sizable fraction was spent presenting ideas and actions to others.

Similarly, management consultant Dierdre Borden found that successful managers spend about 75 percent of their time in verbal interaction with others: on the telephone, face-to-face, in meetings and in presentations to groups large and small. The fact is, most information in contemporary business and social settings is passed orally, and the most important of our ideas are frequently formalized in presentations to clients, customers, shareholders, superiors and key decision makers.

You can't avoid it. At some point soon in your career, you're going to be asked to give a presentation. The problem is that most people are genuinely apprehensive about doing that. We can compose a memo, letter, report or e-mail in the quiet and comfort of our home or office, but standing up in front of a group to offer our thoughts— or to motivate them to action— is simply frightening to many people.

Like it or not, during a presentation you're being evaluated by everyone in the audience. You're being sized up, critiqued and assessed. For those 15 or 20 minutes, your value to the organization, your career, your future are on the line. No wonder people get nervous.

I've been teaching public speaking to business school students, government and military officials, and professionals in all lines of work for nearly 50 years and I've learned one simple truth about public speaking: it's not easy, but it's certainly doable. I've helped people overcome fears, anxieties and apprehensions of all sorts and watched them go on to wow an audience with their presentation skills. If they can do it, so can you.

This book, simple and compact as it is, can do three things for you. First, it can help you to diagnose your own current speaking abilities. It'll help you size up your skill levels and get some sense of whether you're “ready for prime time.”