We’ve said that one of the benefits of How to Talk to (Almost) Anyone About (Almost) Anything: Public Speaking for Non-Public Speakers is the very practical, down-to-earth advice that she imparts –advice that’s equally good for experienced speakers and newcomers.  Here’s a taste from a chapter titled “Antidotes for Wobbly Knees and Sweaty Palms:”

Remove any coins or keys from your pockets before you speak so you are not tempted to jingle or play with them. Likewise, unless you are using them for emphasis, avoid having a pen or pencil nearby lest you tap and distract the audience. If there is no speaker’s stand, have a table close on which to put your speech so that you can slide each page to one side unobtrusively.

Although you should have sent the host your current biographical sketch, bring along another in the likelihood t he or she has neglected to take it to the event and was planning to “wing it.” In either case, by making sure the introductory remarks say just what you want said to this particular audience, you start off on the proper note.

After you are introduced, take as much time as you need to arrange yourself and your speech comfortably at the podium. Smile in a friendly way and look around slowly at the audience. It may seem like an interminable time before all those faces come into focus, but it will most likely be only a scant second or two. Be confident you are in charge and they have nowhere to go.

Learn more and get your copy of How to Talk to (Almost) Anyone About (Almost) Anything for print, Kindle app or e-reader right here

Leading or supporting deep, meaningful change in your community… well, it’s damned hard work.  Old answers don’t work, new answers are still fuzzy, colleagues and residents don’t get it, and bosses can be… well, you know.

After  years of  dinking around the edges, we know it’s time to marshal the forces to make the changes our communities need.  But to do that, we need three things:

• Toolkits to help us do the day-to-day things better;

• Understanding of the Trends to see where the future might be leading us,

• and perhaps most importantly, Wisdom and bravery to undertake that hard work — and the encouragement of knowing that we are not alone.

The Wise Fool Press is designed to give you those three types of fuels — quickly, efficiently, and through the platforms that makes the best sense for you.  We bring you deep thoughts and practical tools to help you navigate, and to help your community ride the waves of change. We don’t believe in magic bullets, and we don’t believe in selling snake oil.  What  we do believe is that we need to figure out better solutions.  And that we’re  in this together.

What’s with the penguin?

You know, to be accurate, it’s a Fat Penguin Floating Majestically Over Toledo.

This little gem, drawn by illustrator Barry Gott, showed up in an early edition of the Wise Fool newsletter.  And I can’t think of a better symbol:

The Impossible becomes Possible.  It’s not necessarily graceful, and it might look downright goofy, but the Impossible becomes Possible.

And as the Wise Fool name implies, a little awareness of our own silliness probably isn’t a bad thing either.

You can check out Barry’s commercial illustration at barrygott.com, and his line of charming city drawings at smalltower.etsy.com