Secrets of Successful Speakers: How You Can Motivate, Captivate, and Persuade

Book Description

How do highly paid professional speakers put magic and motivation into every talk? Lilly Walters, Executive Director of Walters International Speakers Bureau, reveals their secrets and strategies in this practical, conversational guide. Mark Twain reputedly said it took him three weeks to prepare an impromptu speech, but readers of Secrets of Successful Speakers will do it in days-or minutes. This book spells out the rules in 11 easy-to-follow steps, each accompanied by interactive exercises. Readers will learn to: set objectives before writing; customize the talk for each audience; conquer stage fright; cultivate a reputation as an expert; develop themes for each presentation; organize material in memorable manner; edit for best effect; project a professional "platform image" through personality, voice, and clothes; motivate audiences to change their actions and attitudes; involve listeners by using humor, heart, and audience participation exercises; deal with problems and pitfalls ranging from poor staging and faulty audio-visual equipment to hecklers and questions of ethics. This authoritative and accessible guide also contains fascinating anecdotes of well-known personalities and how they mastered the art of public speaking. It will quickly become the reference of choice for trainers, lawyers, doctors, managers, and everyone who makes presentations or gives talks.

Customer Reviews:

This book is worth its weight in gold!.......2006-07-08

Lilly and Dottie Walters have contributed volumes to the world of professional speaking. All of their books provide veteran and upcoming speakers alike with the resources, tips, and guidelines needed to be successful. This book is another example of the quality and care the Walters provide in all aspects of their speaking enterprise. I found this book to be most helpful in planning and writing my public speaking presentations as well as in my daily lesson preparations as a secondary school teacher. Lilly Walters presents page after page of straight forward approaches to capturing and keeping any audiences attention as well as numerous methods of achieving and reinforcing the exact message you were aiming at delivering. This is a must have on every public speaker's and educator's book shelf. My name is Kelly Croy. You can learn more about me and how I use this excellent book by Lilly Walters on my website at www.kellycroy.com.

Too Many Cooks.......2005-09-07

There are plenty of good books on public speaking - and this is NOT one of them. For several reasons.

First and definitely most importantly - it regularly contradicts itself. For example, on the subject of humor and the person who is to introduce you:

"...If it looks like they are going to read some big long thing, give them some quick funny story to say instead." Dr. Ken Blanchard

"Never give and introducer 'risky' material that requires comic timing." Tom Ogden

So, assuming that Mr Ogden meant "material which requires comic timing is 'risky'," we have two "experts telling us, one straight after the other, to (1) get the introducer to tell a funny story, and (2) avoid asking the introducer to tell a funny story!

This confusion is mainly down to the author's choice to use a vast collection of quotes from people she presumably regards as "expert speakers," interspersed, from time to time, by her own thoughts and observations. Unfortunately, despite her wealth of experience as a head of a "professional lecture agency," or maybe because of it, Ms. Walters has produced a book that is about as superficial as most of the "key note" and "after dinner" speeches I've ever had to witness.

There's a mountain of material here, and SOME of it is genuinely useful, but it's all so mixed up with the dross that you'd have to be something of an expert already in order to know which bits are worth taking notice of, and which are likely to make things worse rather than better. In which case you wouldn't need this book in the first place.

The second important flaw in the book is that it assumes that the "experts" actually know what makes them successful. Which is also unfortunate, since it is widely recognised that "experts" usually have little or no idea as to what their success is really based on. The best they can do is tell you what THEY think they do - hence the conflicting instructions and the highly variable usefulness of the book as a whole.

Thirdly, there is the author's own rather questionable knowledge. In Chapter 5, for instance, there is a section on mind maps, which shows little or no understanding of the subject. To be sure, the author does say, at one point:

"True mind map experts, which I am not, will tell you to use only one word per line along with the pictures."

No they won't. They'll tell you never to use a complete sentence, because if you do you will seriously undermine the main reason for using a mind map. And that's just after they'd tell you that you do NOT have to use pictures all over a mind map, as this author asserts.

The obvious question is "Why describe a technique if you know that you don't really know what you're talking about?" It may fill up some space, but it certainly doesn't do the reader any favours.

If you're the sort of person who gains confidence from getting "Reader's Digest"-sized quotes from a host of big name speakers then you may well enjoy this book. If you want something with a modicum of genuine authority, from someone who writes from an in depth knowledge AND UNDERSTANDING of their subject then you'll need to look elsewhere.

A Must for your Library.......2004-08-21

Any person looking to raise the level of their speaking needs to add this book to their library. I personally own every book Lilly has published. As a professional speaker myself and the author of, "10 Days to More Confident Public Speaking" (Warner Books), I appreciate the value of the information in Lilly's book and I recommmend this book to anyone.

A potent concoction of surefire tips and techniques.......2002-11-08

This is certainly one of the best books on public speaking I've read. The only other work that deserves special mention is Jack Valenti's Speak Up with Confidence. Walters gives surefire tips and techniques that are recipe for a successful presentation that may inspire for years.

Her crisp advice on the main requirements of a speech of "passion and compassion with a purpose" is very potent and often leaps off my mind each time I prepare to instruct or make a speech. Walters has carefully drawn from the "secrets" of public speaking pros and concocted them into a surefire formula for success. What's more, her anecdotes and quotes are both entertaining and memorable.

I found myself a better speaker even after reading and applying steps 1 and 2. Wait till I conquer step 11! Thank you Lilly Walters for an absolutely inspiring and terrific book.

A potent concoction of surefire tips and techniques.......2002-11-08

Her crisp advice on the main requirements of a speech of "passion and compassion with a purpose" is very potent and often leaps off my mind each time I prepare to instruct or make a speech. Walters has carefully drawn from the "secrets" of public speaking pros and concocted them into a surefire formula for success. What's more, her anectdotes and quotes are both entertaining and memorable.

Book Description

Top speakers such as Anthony Robbins and Lou Holtz reveal how they work their magic. Using the same winning formula that propelled her Secrets of Successful Speakers to sales of over 85,000 copies, best-selling author Lilly Walters examines what makes the cream-of-the-crop motivational speakers stand above the rest. She interviews or does detailed profiles 19 superstars--including Maya Angelou, Les Brown, Jack Canfield, Deepak Chopra, Stephen Covey, Sir Winston Leonard Spenser Churchill, Elizabeth Dole, Mark Victor Hansen, Lou Holtz, Vince Lombardi, Sr. and Jr., Earl Nightingale, Norman Vincent Peale, Christopher Reeve, Anita Roddick, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Dottie Walters, and Zig Ziglar. Perhaps more importantly, she interviews hundreds whose lives have been changed when they heard the words of these superstar speakers.

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely wonderful book - congratulations on a masterpiece!.......2007-06-20

I've been a professional speaker, trainer and consultant for over 20 years now, and this has got to be one of the best (top-3) books on pro speaking I've ever read. I wish I'd picked it up years ago.

Inspirational and moving, the hundreds of paragraphs of tips from top speakers like Brian Tracy, Mark Victor Hansen, Tony Robbins and of course the Walters are absolutely vital, extremely helpful (even at this stage in my career - this one will really help me!), and a wonderfully valuable book.

I've bought virtually every book on public speaking available, and this one is the one that touched me the most. Think of it like an "inspiration for those who speak", sharing the deep, personal insights from some of the world's top speakers.

This one's a must-get if you are a seminar presenter or speaker. Bravo!

Thanks,

Ken Calhoun

Not a book to buy if you want the basics.......2005-08-12

I really wasn't as enthused about this book as the other reviewers. And I'm writing my review because I based my purchase of this book on the many glowing reviews preceding mine.

I bought Secrets of Superstar Speakers thinking I would learn the tips the superstar speakers used so I could use them myself. But Walters only superficially goes into those tips. And many of these tips were obvious and seemed to be "filler". For instance, one section tells you how to stay motivated in the lean years, and tips from "superstars" include: loving what you do, hanging in there, there's no quick fix, and having faith. This advice sounded trite and isn't much help to a reader who's looking for simple speaking tips.

When Walters finally touches on practical and useful superstar tips, she delves into them only superficially and often advises the reader to read her other previously published books to learn more. In fact, Walters plugs her other books quite a bit throughout.

I was also disappointed that the only superstar speakers Walters discusses are motivational speakers. I hadn't realized this was going to be the case, despite the subtitle "Wisdom from the greatest motivators of our time." I thought this book would include great businesspeople, salespeople, lecturers, who are also talented motivators (they motivate you to buy, sell, do, etc.). If you've got more than Tony Robbins-type motivation to talk about, then this book is not for you.

I also felt that Walter's advice was repetetive. She would suggest a tip only to repeat it again on the same page and the next page and the next. Funny enough, the tip to repeat your message was repeated ad nauseum.

The grammar and writing skills were sorely lacking, which was distracting and detracting. To wit, on page 226: "As you put all of these skills on the platform, remembering to appear natural and unrehearsed, takes a great deal of preparation and practice." Sentences like this had me shaking my head.

Only when you get to the last 40 or so pages, you get good meaty tips, which is why I gave this review 2 stars instead of just 1. But the rest of the book is really just superficial filler about motivational speakers.

Finally, I have to say that I also found it offensive that the author managed to squeeze in references to God, religion and Christianity on practically every page. It doesn't seem to occur to her that her readers might be of another religion or might not be religious at all. And since this is not a book about religion, I felt the vast number of religious references were entirely unwarranted.

Another Great Book by Lilly Walters.......2004-03-17

I love this book! Reading how the greatest motivational speakers motivate themselves--gets me motivated!

Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works: How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated

PS I am a big fan of Jack Canfield. There is a lot of stuff from him and Mark V Hanson in this book. For example, here is a little excerpt from Jack:

"At my seminar I do a section on `discovering your life's purpose'. We start off by hitting it from the external, then we eventually approach it from the inside. We get them to answer questions like: Who are you envious of?

I was envious of Kenny Rogers, the singer. I had to ask myself, what is it I am envious of? One, he brings pro-athletes down to his ranch in Virginia. He's got a football field, a baseball diamond, a basketball court, tennis court, all built in. He brings in John McEnroe from the tennis world, Larry Byrd from the Pacers, football players. They divide up into teams and have a mini Olympics type event all week. They play all day, then at night they get massages and have gourmet meals. Kenny is also a great portrait photographer, so he takes pictures of everyone. I thought, what is it that I envy about that? I realized it is that I love hanging out with people who are the best at what they do. It helped me realize my passion is for information, for sharing, for generosity, for making a difference.

I start with the envy question, then I ask, 'Think back in your life, when did you feel most alive? When did you feel most happy? When did you feel most loved? What was your greatest success? What was it about that success that made it a success?' As they answer these, people start to see some patterns
.
Finally, we ask, 'Who do you admire most on the planet alive or dead? If you could be anyone on the planet, who would you be?' If someone says Tony Robbins, that is a real different statement than Mother Teresa. It helps define what they want to express.

With their eyes closed I have them imagine they are climbing a mountain, they go into a temple, and this wise person comes and brings them a gift. As they open the gift, it will symbolically represent their life's purpose. People open it and get things like a children's book, this because they are supposed to write a children's book. Some get little poor kids looking up a them with hope, this because they are supposed to go empower those kids. People get in touch with their passion and their purpose." --Jack Canfield

Super Book.......2003-05-14

Book has great ideas and ways to become a better public speaker. Very good overall.

A Good Read!.......2001-04-27

Lilly Walters focuses on the success stories of 19 top speakers and their hints for speaking well. She highlights their backgrounds, turning points and key sayings, and then provides tips on becoming a top speaker using their methods for developing and giving effective presentations. Hearing what these speakers say about the principles of good speechmaking is interesting, but their "insider" tips are pretty obvious, even to an outsider. Most of their advice is widely known within the speaking industry and is presented here repetitively. Don't be put off by the "read this resume" nature of the initial introductions, because they put the speakers in context and show their success. We [...] recommend this book to virgin public speakers or those who want a refreshing booster, to those who book big-name talkers, or to those who like to read recreationally about celebrities and their ideas.

Persuasive platform presentations: Secrets of successful speakers

Average customer rating:

Persuasive platform presentations: Secrets of successful speakers
Lillet Walters
Manufacturer: Walters Speakers Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Public Speaking | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00072R63U

The Secrets of Successful Speaking and Business Presentation

Average customer rating:

Delightful book about public speaking

The Secrets of Successful Speaking and Business Presentation
Gordon Bell
Manufacturer: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Running Meetings & Presentations | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0434901342

Customer Reviews:

Delightful book about public speaking.......2007-06-11

Gordon Bell's classic book is more about public speaking than about PowerPoint presentations. Though it may seem slightly dated in this respect but it is still filled with timeless wisdom and good learning points. He gives techniques for developing the right frame of mind before facing the audience, techniques for learning voice projection and delivery and for making your presentations lively and interesting. Gordon Bell uses many stories and examples from real life to make this delightfully written book very engaging.

Though this book was written a generation before the spread of software such as PowerPoint, Gordon Bell's method of the five-P's; purpose,people,proposition,power point (not the computer programme called PowerPoint) and profit can still be used to make excellent presentations even using PowerPoint.

The Secrets of Successful Speaking and Business Presentations

Average customer rating:

The Secrets of Successful Speaking and Business Presentations
Gordon Bell
Manufacturer: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Running Meetings & Presentations | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Public Speaking | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0750602325

Book Description

'European Gastronomy into the 21st Century' is a unique text examining the development and origins of European food traditions within social, economic and geographical contexts.

Gastronomy is the art and science of good eating and drinking: a concept that extends outwards to embrace wider notions of tradition, culture, society and civilisation. This book provides a rigorous, well researched and much needed treatment of the subject, systematically outlining:

* the development of European gastronomic tradition, and the social, economic, philosophical and geographical contexts of change
* the experiences, philosophies and relative contributions of great gastronomes, past and present
* the interplay of traditional and contemporary influences on modern gastronomy
* the relationship between gastronomy and and travel and tourism
* salient issues of nutrition, food hygiene and health promotion

Taking an all-encompassing look at the subject of gastronomy past, present and future, 'European Gastronomy into the 21st Century' uses example menus and case studies to demonstrate the theory. It also provides an insight into the business arena, using key destination restaurants to illustrate management techniques and marketing issues. Accessible and highly structured, the book guides the reader through its wide-ranging and thought-provoking content.

The only book of its kind in this subject area
Completely up-to-date comprehensive guide
Essential reading for industry practitioners and students of hospitality management and culinary arts courses

Bankruptcy and Related Law: Including Bapcpa (Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy)
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Not Helpful

Bankruptcy and Related Law: Including Bapcpa (Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy)
Steve H. Nickles , and David G. Epstein
Manufacturer: West Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Bankruptcy | Business | Law | Subjects | Books
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Bankruptcy | Business | Law | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0314065792

Book Description

Presents an analysis of the debtor/creditor relationship before bankruptcy, state-created alternatives to bankruptcy, bankruptcy procedure, as well as the aspects of collecting and distributing property once the bankruptcy process has begun. Discover how the debtor is protected once the matter is filed with the bankruptcy courts. Reveals alternatives to liquidation bankruptcy. A must-have for the student wishing to have a comprehensive and insightful analysis of bankruptcy and creditor rights.

Customer Reviews:

Not Helpful.......2007-04-17

This book is not helpful in any way. I am taking bankruptcy now and everytime I try to use this book the information I need is not included, or it only covers the topic in an extremely general manner. For a much better supplement use the debtor creditor examples and explanations. It is much better than this book.

1987 Supplement to Bankruptcy and Creditors Rights: Cases and Materials (American Casebook Series)

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1987 Supplement to Bankruptcy and Creditors Rights: Cases and Materials (American Casebook Series)
James J. White
Manufacturer: West
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

American Casebook | Series | Law | Subjects | Books
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Bankruptcy and Creditors Rights (Summ and Substance Ser.)

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Bankruptcy and Creditors Rights (Summ and Substance Ser.)
Douglass Boshkoff
Manufacturer: Sum & Substance
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Bankruptcy | Business | Law | Subjects | Books

Bankruptcy and creditors' rights: Cases and materials (American casebook series)

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Bankruptcy and creditors' rights: Cases and materials (American casebook series)
James J White
Manufacturer: West Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

American Casebook | Series | Law | Subjects | Books

Private Law | Law | Subjects | Books
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The Bills of Sale Acts 1878 and 1882: With notes, forms, and a short account of certain rights affecting bills of sale together with a concise outline of the law relating to such bills

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The Bills of Sale Acts 1878 and 1882: With notes, forms, and a short account of certain rights affecting bills of sale together with a concise outline of the law relating to such bills
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Product Description

This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1882 edition by Henry Sweet, London.

Cases and materials on creditor's rights and secured transactions under the U.C.C., (University casebook series)

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Cases and materials on creditor's rights and secured transactions under the U.C.C., (University casebook series)
William Edward Hogan
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Cases and materials on creditors' rights

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Cases and materials on creditors' rights
Mark MacGuigan
Manufacturer: University of Toronto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Bankruptcy | Business | Law | Subjects | Books

Civil Procedure | Procedures & Litigation | Law | Subjects | Books
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Cases and materials on creditors' rights (University casebook series)

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Cases and materials on creditors' rights (University casebook series)
John Hanna
Manufacturer: Foundation Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Bankruptcy | Business | Law | Subjects | Books

Debt & Deficits | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Creditor Rights and the Public Interest: Restructuring Insolvent Corporations

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Creditor Rights and the Public Interest: Restructuring Insolvent Corporations
Janis Sarra
Manufacturer: University of Toronto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Business Law | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Administrative Law | Law | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

Creditor Rights and the Public Interest supports the greater representation of non-traditional creditors in the process of insolvency restructuring in Canada, concentrating particularly on restructuring under the federal Companies' Creditors' Arrangement Act (CCAA). Arguing in favour of the representation of such non-traditional creditors as workers, consumers, trade suppliers, and local governments, Janis Sarra describes the existing process of addressing their interests, analyzes four case studies that focus on non-creditor groups, and compares the Canadian approach to that of several other countries, such as Germany, France, and the United States.

Sarra draws on a comprehensive body of academic literature that covers a broad range of issues—insolvency theory, corporate governance theory, legislative history, and bankruptcy and insolvency practice. She further surveys the relevant legislation and supplements her analysis with insights drawn from extensive primary research of court records and personal interviews with lawyers, judges, and government officials.

Creditor Rights and the Public Interest ultimately illustrates the way in which the concept of the public interest can be utilized to foreground the concerns of non-traditional stakeholders. Sarra provides a coherent account of the justification for recognizing these creditors by situating insolvency law in a legal regime that realizes a duty to maximize all of the interests and investments at stake in the corporation. In an academic field where scholarship is currently scarce, Sarra's text will be a welcome contribution.

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