The Truth about Confident Presenting: All You Need to Know to Make Winning Presentations, Fearlessly and Painlessly

By James S. O'Rourke, IV

Accomplished public speakers know that just a few enduring principles govern the key to success. Based on scientific evidence and years of careful observation of highly successful public speakers, James O’Rourke has gathered 51 basic truths about confident presenting, organized into ten easily mastered categories in ‘The Truth about Confident Presenting’. Current relevant examples and specific instructions on how to apply these truths form the centrepiece of each brief chapter. Everything you need is right here – from audience research to topic selection, organization patterns, forms of evidence, principles of persuasion, delivery techniques, nonverbal mannerisms, anxiety and event management.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anthem Press
• Release date: Jan 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781783088843

Book preview

Praise for The Truth about Confident Presenting, 2/e

As you are taken on a journey through each chapter you will not only improve your public communication skills, you will actually begin to enjoy speaking to groups small and large and have a positive impact on your audience.

—Christine Removille, Managing Director Europe, Africa, LatinAmerica— Accenture Interactive

"Want to be a better presenter? Pick up James O’Rourke’s The Truth about Confident Presenting. He’ll take you step by step through the elements of great presentations and help you connect with your audience."

—Catherine Mathis, Chief Communications Officer, McGraw-Hill Education

This book balances facts and philosophy to deliver the most honest and practical approach to communication I have read. Even after 25 years of public speaking, I found a lot of new weapons to add to my arsenal.

—Denise Karkos, Chief Marketing Officer, TD Ameritrade

O’Rourke explains the critical link between the content of a speech and its effectiveness, illuminating the powerful connection between preparation and performance.

—R. Jeep Bryant, Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, The Bank of New York Mellon

"How engaging and enjoyable presentations would be if all speakers read The Truth about Confident Presenting! Speakers of all levels can learn something from this tapas-style assortment of insights preparing them for informal meetings as well as formal presentations."

—Zoe Chance, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Yale School of Management, USA

O’Rourke’s little volume reads with a practical wisdom that new and experience speakers will enjoy reflecting on and putting into practice.

—Elizabeth A. Powell, Associate Professor, Management Communication, Darden School of Business, and Kluge Professor, School of Nursing, University of Virginia, USA

It is a rare volume on public speaking that draws in the reader with its astute scholarship, practical advice, and concise prose––let alone one written by a scholar who knows a thing or two about a good presentation. This is one such book.

—Scot E. Hoffman, Director of Global Communications, Dodge & Cox, San Francisco, California

The Truth About Confident Presenting, 2/e

The Truth About Confident Presenting, 2/e

All You Need to Know to Make Winning Presentations, Fearlessly and Painlessly

James S. O’Rourke, IV

Anthem Press

An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company

www.anthempress.com

This edition first published in UK and USA 2019

by ANTHEM PRESS

75–76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UK

or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK

and

244 Madison Ave #116, New York, NY 10016, USA

[© James S. O’Rourke, IV 2019]

[The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.]

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above,

no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means

(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise),

without the prior written permission of both the copyright

owner and the above publisher of this book.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN-13: 978-1-78308-882-9 (Hbk)

ISBN-10: 1-78308-882-6 (Hbk)

This title is also available as an e-book.

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Part I Some Initial Truths

Truth 1Public speaking is not easy, but it’s certainly doable

Truth 2The key to success is preparation

Truth 3Rehearsal is essential

Truth 4Emulating good speakers makes you better

Truth 5Establish goals for your presentation

Truth 6A presentation is a learning occasion

Part II The Truth About Getting Ready to Speak

Truth 7Talk is the work

Truth 8Know what your audience is looking for

Truth 9There is a difference between speaking and writing

Truth 10Preparing a presentation is a relatively simple process

Truth 11Begin by analyzing your audience

Truth 12Know your audience

Part III The Truth About What Makes People Listen

Truth 13Understand what makes people listen

Truth 14Your speaking style makes a difference

Truth 15Anticipate the questions your audience brings to your presentation

Truth 16Listening matters

Truth 17Being an active listener brings real benefits

Truth 18You can overcome the barriers to successful communication

Part IV The Truth About Developing Support for Your Presentation

Truth 19Develop support for your presentation

Truth 20Understand the power of your content

Truth 21The kinds and quality of evidence matter to your audience

Truth 22Structure can help carry an inexperienced speaker

Truth 23Find support for your presentation

Truth 24Use the Internet to support your presentation

Part V The Truth About Getting Up to Speak

Truth 25Select a delivery approach

Truth 26Your introduction forms their first impression

Truth 27Begin with a purpose in mind

Truth 28Keep your audience interested

Truth 29Conclusions are as important as introductions

Truth 30Have confidence in your preparation

Truth 31Repeat the process as often as possible

Part VI The Truth About Managing Anxiety

Truth 32All speakers get nervous

Truth 33Recognize anxiety before it begins

Truth 34Deal with nervous behaviors

Truth 35Keep your nervousness to yourself

Part VII The Truth About Nonverbal Communication

Truth 36Most information is transferred nonverbally

Truth 37The nonverbal process can work for you

Truth 38Nonverbal communication has specific functions

Truth 39Nonverbal communication is governed by key principles

Truth 40Nonverbal communication has an effect on your audience

Part VIII The Truth About Visual Aids

Truth 41Visual aids can help your audience understand your message

Truth 42Understand visual images before you use them

Truth 43Choose the right visual.

Truth 44Use PowerPoint effectively.

Truth 45Consider speaking without visuals

Part IX The Truth About Handling an Audience

Truth 46Assess the mood of your audience

Truth 47Answer the audience’s questions

Truth 48Handle hostility with confidence

Part X The Truth About What Makes a Presentation Work

Truth 49Know as much as possible about the location

Truth 50Use the microphone to your advantage

Truth 51Know your limits

References

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Foreword

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.

For me, rehearsal (Truth 3) remains a challenge and requires my focus while introductions (Truth 27) and questions (Truth 38) often show up as my favorite moments in a presentation. (My spouse said something to me about the importance of listening (Truths 13 through 18), but I recall exactly what was said.)

However you choose to use this book, I urge you to mine it for all its worth. Your employees, investors, colleagues and customers—all who hear you speak—will appreciate the investment you made in your confident presenting.

J. D. Schramm, Ed D.

MBA Class of 1978 Lecturer

Stanford University Graduate School of Business

Introduction

Harvard Business School Professor John Kotter studied a number of successful general managers over a five-year 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. Second, it will show you the standards of the North American marketplace. Point-by-point, you’ll find the expectations of the business and professional world in here. Finally, this book will give you the toolkit you’ll need to prepare, improve and present. It’s all here, neatly tucked into 51 chapters.

The most important truth to be learned, however, is this: great presenters weren’t born that way. They became great by focusing on their message, the needs of the audience, the pattern of organization and the details of presenting. Persistence, dedication and little practice will go a long way toward making you a top-notch public speaker. The details are straight ahead.

Truth

1

Public speaking is not easy, but it’s certainly doable

If you’ve ever had to make a presentation, you know the anxiety that comes with speaking in public. Even experienced speakers can feel flustered, sweaty, anxious and apprehensive. That’s a perfectly natural reaction to a threatening situation. And when you know you’re being evaluated, you feel even more threatened. Your perception of a threat causes you to release adrenal fluids, dilate your pupils, tense your muscles, and provokes a fight or flight response. You understand the consequences of not doing well, of failing to impress an audience or not coming through for a client when it really matters. You know all too well what can go wrong.

Good public speakers tend to focus on what can go right. They concentrate on the positive aspects of their message and how it can benefit their audience. Once they detect a positive response from their listeners, that perception