Month: December 2016

Chapter 10 of Elaine Cogan’s book, How to Talk to (Almost) Anyone About (Almost) Anything: Public Speaking for the Non-Public Speaker is a perfect summary of everything that the speaker needs to know to be the most effective when presenting.  

Combined with the checklist in Chapter 11, Elaine leaves us with a clear game plan for the entire process of creating and delivering a winning presentation.  

When we close the book, we will be ready to give a great presentation — we are confident that we are prepared for any situation!

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“Do not fear those rare occasions you are expected to make impromptu remarks,” Elaine Cogan tells us in her book, How to Talk to (Almost) Anyone about (Almost) Anything.  

Yes, you will have to think quickly and on your toes. But Chapter 9 gives us concrete advice for managing the situation, creating enough space to arrange our thoughts and organizing our comments so that communicate what we most need to say.

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Whether you are a young business professional, or someone who has been in the workforce for a while, there will be plenty of times when you have the responsibility to introduce a special guest, a head table, an award winner or a main speaker.  Unfortunately, people often don’t prepare for these situations, and they can become an embarrassment for everyone.

Elaine Cogan’s book, How to Talk to (Almost) Anyone About (Almost) Anything: Public Speaking for the Non-Public Speaker gives us specific ways to plan for, organize and manage these occasions, allowing us to do these important jobs in a way that makes both us and others look good.

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Any speaker must be prepared to answer all types of questions from the audience — even if the questions might not seem to have anything to do with your topic.

Elaine Cogan’s book, How to Talk to (Almost) Anyone About (Almost) Anything: Public Speaking for the Non-Public Speaker helps us discover how to anticipate and prepare for questions, and how to manage a wide variety of question types and questioner motives.  Her advice helps us enhance our presentation — while also keeping the whole audience engaged and the situation under control.

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Sweaty Hands. Shaky voice. Wobbly Knees. We all experience these sensations and we desperately want to get rid of them. Chapter 6 of Elaine Cogan’s book, How to Talk to (Almost) Anyone About (Almost) Anything: Public Speaking for the Non-Public Speaker talks about these symptoms and shows us how to overcome them.

According to Elaine, preparation is key: “Know your speech so well that you have the confidence you can act quickly and assuredly to deal with anything unexpected that may happen.” The more prepared that you are. the smoother your speech will be and you won’t have to deal with all those uncomfortable negative situations.

But even the most prepared speaker can still get butterflies. Elaine also helps us manage our own nervousness and, in her words, “get all the butterflies flying in the same direction.”

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According to Elaine Cogan, “If you decide to use one or more visual aids- and some speeches are fine without them- always remember their function is to assist you in presenting your message. They are not your message.”

Too many speakers tend to put lots of words on slides and overload the audience with information. There is always a fine line between overloading and not giving the audience enough, and in Chapter 5 of Elaine Cogan’s book, How to Talk to (Almost) Anyone About (Almost) Anything: Public Speaking for the Non-Public Speaker, Elaine offers great advice for walking that tightrope.

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In order to engage your audience the best way to succeed is by simply being YOU.  

Elaine Cogan’s book, How to Talk to (Almost) Anyone About (Almost) Anything: Public Speaking for the Non-Public Speaker gives guidance on when and how to use humor to connect with people  — without hitting a sour note.

Elaine writes, “Giving a speech that involves humor or storytelling involves some risk. First, it requires you to talk about something that is compatible with your personality and style of presenting that is at the same time likely to amuse the audience.” This is essential to becoming the best public speaker that you can be.

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This third chapter of Elaine Cogan’s book, How to Talk to (Almost) Anyone About (Almost) Anything: Public Speaking for the Non-Public Speaker provides the reader with the concrete tools to design and deliver a speech in a manner than keeps the audience engaged the entire time.

Elaine shows us how to prepare a speech through a week-by-week process that helps us identify important ideas, find the best ways to convey them, and develop an excellent delivery.

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Chapter 2 of Elaine Cogan’s new book, How to Talk to (Almost) Anyone About (Almost) Anything: Public Speaking for the Non-Public Speaker is eight pages long and a nice smooth read. This chapter is provides a detailed strategy for achieving the confidence promised in Chapter One.

The first key to success when preparing a speech is knowing your audience –  “Demographics are important… Average age? Gender? Primarily women? Men? Mixed? Find out as much as you possibly can about each group to whom you are speaking.”

Elaine also helps up think through the other issues that will affect our success as a speaker.  Following the systematic process she teaches will set us up for success.

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