Berkun, Scott: Confessions of a Public Speaker

O'Reilly Media, 240 pages
1st published: 2011

I have no intention of doing any public speaking myself in the next, oh, decade or so, or if I can help it ever, but nonetheless, after picking up this book on a whim, I found it engrossing. The author is a professional speaker who has clearly thought a lot about what makes for a successful presentation and about how people learn. He offers the reader practical advice about how to do well in front of an audience, or at least better, and about how to respond when, inevitably, something goes wrong. A lot of the secret is simple hard work: if you're super prepared and knowledgeable about your subject matter and you've practiced your talk until you know your points cold, then you're less likely to be thrown by technical problems or hecklers or last minute changes in line-up. All of this is very good, but what interested me as a reader who's unlikely to be in front of an audience anytime soon were Berkun's more tangential discussions--about the history of the so-called lecture circuit and why we're biologically programmed to be afraid of public speaking, for example. Berkun is smart and funny and the book is a quick read that's worth your time even if you're not a speaker: a lot of what he says--about clarity of expression, for example--could be applied to writing as well. The book is recommended. And do be sure to read its colophon, which is...well, strange.