Painless presentations: the proven, stress-free way to successful public speaking (paperback) The Proven, Stress-Free Way to Successful Public Speaking

What happens when you're asked to give a speech, professionally or personally? If you get nervous, start sweating, and hope it's all just a bad dream then you aren't alone, but you need help. Painless Presentations proves that speaking doesn't have to be painful, or even stressful. A speech is a means to giving great, helpful material to an audience and the speaker is the vehicle to achieve that goal. This simple-to-read book guides those just beginning their journey into the world of speaking. Painless Presentations teaches the "Dozen Deadly Dangers" to avoid and much more.

• Explains how to gather information and materials
• Details the structure of a presentation
• Describes uses of visual aids and vocal variety
• Demonstrates how to handle questions

Painless Presentations offers wisdom derived from Lenny Laskowski's thirty-five-year speaking career, delivering more than 2,700 programs to clients in over 178 countries. It will give you no-sweat tips for delivering speeches that win over your audiences every time and teaches you that giving speeches doesn't have to be painful.

Aspect 1—The Speaker 4

Aspect 2—The Message 5

Aspect 3—The Audience 9

Aspect 4—The Channel 16

Aspect 5—The Feedback 18

Aspect 6—The Noise 20

Aspect 7—The Setting 37

Chapter 2 Gathering Information and Materials 51

Librarians 54

Catalogs 54

Periodicals 55

Newspapers 55

Reference Works 56

The Internet 56

What Visual Aids Will You Use during Your Presentation?

Will You Use Any Visual Aids? 59

Where Will You Stand during Your Presentation? 59

Presentation Preparation as a Process 60

Information Overload 61

Using Videos and Music during Your Presentation 63

Chapter 3 The Structure of a Presentation 65

The Introduction 67

The Body 69

The Conclusion 71

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence—Special Format for Sales Presentations 72

The Dozen Deadly Dangers—Reasons for Poor Presentations 75

Chapter 4 Use of Visual Aids 79

Validity of the Data 82

Use of Visual Aids 83

Types of Visual Aids 87

More about Using Visual Aids 102

The Most Important Visual Aid 103

Chapter 5 Learning Styles 107

Visual or Spatial 110

Auditory or Aural 111

Verbal or Linguistic 113

Physical or Kinesthetic 114

Logical or Mathematical 115

Social or Interpersonal 116

Solitary or Intrapersonal 117

Mixed Learning Styles 118

Presentation Environment 118

Myers-Briggs 121

Chapter 6 Nonverbal Messages 123

Gestures—Let Your Body Speak 125

Performance Orientation versus Conversational Mode 130

Types of Gestures 136

Locations of Gestures 138

How to Gesture Effectively 142

Body Movement 147

Chapter 7 How to Handle Questions 161

Question-and-Answer Period 163

The Five-Step Process for Answering Regular (Nondifficult) Questions 163

Dealing with Difficult or Hostile Questions 166

Chapter 8 The Effective Speech 173

More on Preparation and Presentation 176

Your Call to Action 184

Index 187

Lenny Laskowski is an internationally known professional speaker and the President of LJL Seminars. He specializes in helping people make better presentations by delivering workshops, seminars, keynotes, and private coaching to provide practical techniques. Lenny combines his popular coaching style with step-by-step instruction to guarantee improvements in the way people motivate and appeal to their audiences. For more information, visit www.LJLSeminars.com.