The Power Presenter: Technique, Style, and Strategy from America’s Top Speaking Coach
- ISBN13: 9780470376485
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Learn the successful presentation techniques used in over 500 IPO road shows and featured in The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company. Jerry Weissman is the presentations coach to Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and many of America’s top executives, including founding Yahoo CEO Tim Koogle, Intuit founder Scott Cook, Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings, and many others. The San Jose Mercury News says that Weissman’s IPO presentation coaching “is worth 10% on a company stock.” Learn why your bo
Rating: 
(out of 48 reviews)
List Price: $ 24.95
Price: $ 13.89
Review by David Garfinkel for The Power Presenter: Technique, Style, and Strategy from America’s Top Speaking Coach
Rating:
Jerry Weissman breaks through a powerful myth about public speaking and offers an appealing alternative right at the start of this book. I’ll rephrase it for you: Public speaking should not be required to mimic what a Broadway actor does on his or her day off!
This is really important for the many businesspeople who speak and have been browbeaten by well-meaning but ill-informed coaches to think that they need to summon up their Inner Thespian just to make an acceptable speech. They don’t. I was once a speech coach and I was on the side of Weissman’s philosophy. Namely, that a speech is not necessarily a Tony-Award-winning performance; but it _is_ a _conversation_ with your audience.
Drama ain’t for everyone. But clear, connected, and ideally compelling communication is.
There’s lots more in this book besides that stress-relieving idea, but it alone will make it worth your reading, especially if you are a man or woman in business. Here is why: Many people successful in business have already learned how to listen and how to speak persuasively, long before they needed to get in front of an audience. (Not all, but many.) That everyday persuasion skill is relatively easy to extend and expand on the platform, compared to the much more demanding (and often awkward) skill set that needs to be mastered from the dramatic arts.
I know a number of people in the professional speaking community and a number of coaches. One other good thing Weissman does that I haven’t seen anyone else in his field do nearly as well or as thoroughly is, he meticulously researches and presents examples from famous people familiar to the reader (one chapter: Winston Churchill, JFK, Martin Luther King, Billy Graham, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama) and shows someone who has no mastery of oratorical skills, and no desire to have it, how to apply some lessons from the greats in their own presentations.
I’ve been speaking in front of groups professionally since 1987. I know from experience (not just as a coach, but as a speaker) that it makes a huge difference to have a model and approach that lets you be yourself in front of a group while still being interesting and worthwhile for your audience. This book gives you many tips and techniques to get you there.
Review by QuinnCreative for The Power Presenter: Technique, Style, and Strategy from America’s Top Speaking Coach
Rating:
Jerry Wiseman’s latest book (he also wrote “In The Line of Fire” and “Presenting to Win”)is subtitled “Technique, Style, and Strategy from America’s Top Speaking Coach.” While the book certainly is packed with practical and useful ideas, I had some difficulties getting through it. Rather than let my subjective opinion color my entire review, here’s what worked and what didn’t work (in my opinion.)
What works:
1. You’ll find a lot of specific examples of good and bad speeches, along with the urls so you can view them online.
2. Weissman stresses the importance of knowing and working with the audience. He brings it up early and keeps coming back to it. It’s the key to good presentations and he wraps much of the book around it.
3. He gives specific examples of improving vocal and visual components of presenting.
4. He addresses how to handle nerves and non-verbal fillers (e.g., “ummm) in clear, useful ways.
5. Chapters 11 through 13 give specific, useful, attainable instructions on how to deliver a PowerPoint presentation that creates a bond of clarity between the speaker and audience. No more Death By PowerPoint.
What doesn’t work:
1. Weissman spends 230 pages on the sizzle and 8.5 on the steak. Chapter 4 is “How to Prepare Your Content, The Seven Steps of Story Development,” but points 6 and 7 are not really about story development. Without meaningful content, there is no presentation, no matter how powerful the presenter. From frequent mentions, I surmise content was the topic of a previous book. But no book on presentation should gloss over the importance of content. Skip it entirely and say why, or include more material on how to write a good presentation.
2. The subtitle of the book includes the words “from America’s Top Speaking Coach.” Who decides that? In case you wonder, the book’s introduction assures the reader that Weissman’s speech coaching has raised the value of an IPO (initial public offering of stock) for none less than Cisco Systems. You also are reminded that Weissman has an MA from Stanford University, and that his client list includes the CEOs of well-known companies, which are named. He makes reference to his other books often. In our culture, self promotion is a virtue, intended to explain expertise. It made me feel browbeaten instead.
3. The majority of speech quotes are political. There is a good reason for that–they are recognizable and easily accessible. The disadvantage is that most people feel strongly supportive of their political choice, and that lessens the reader’s ability to be impartial in how these speeches are described.
4. Their are design and editorial flaws. The book’s photos and clips are in black and white, even after TV programs ran in color. Some of the photos are blurry. The pie chart on pages 2 and 4 is presented incorrectly: a pie chart’s biggest segment begins at the top of the circle and moves clockwise, followed by the next biggest segment. The political quotes are too busy–they appear in italics, separated from the text by indents and keylines. One of those would have been enough. The urls for each political clip (conveniently, the url is an ad for the author) is given in a large shaded box marked “Note” and a reminder to use the passcode in the introduction. This material could have been handled in a less obtrusive way. Important notes, such as how to black out a PowerPoint screen are presented in the same way, making it easy for a reader to skip them. Elizabeth Dole’s nickname is “Liddy” not “Libby.” There is mention of a Pulitzer Prize winning television critic, but he or she is not named. On p. 207 is a chart that “summarizes. . .all that you’ve learned in the last two chapters,” but the chart shows 6 identical storyboard segments. All these stumbles make me doubt some of the veracity of the book.
The book is certainly worth reading and even worth owning. It’s not a textbook, but it will help you improve your presentation skills.
Review by Larry Mullins for The Power Presenter: Technique, Style, and Strategy from America’s Top Speaking Coach
Rating:
Like most professional presenters I have a couple of shelves of books on public speaking and presenting. We always look for a new wrinkle. Jerry Weissman’s book seemed especially promising. He had trained some heavy hitters, including the CEO’s of Yahoo, Intuit, and Netflix. I was not disappointed. One moment we all fear is when we stand up to speak … what Jerry calls the “Moment of Truth,” the critical first few seconds when you begin to speak, when appearance, body language and the way you sound account for 93% of the impression you make. (WHAT you say accounts for only 7%!) Jerry’s techniques for handling the adrenaline rush and moving with confidence and grace are excellent. His most important quality is writing with clarity and precision and walking you through each step in the preparation process. In my judgment, every battle is won or lost before it is set into motion, and Jerry handles this concept as the “Mental Method of Presenting.” Assuming you have a precious payload, preparation and multiple rehearsals will launch it into orbit successfully.
There is a great deal more, including learning to tell the right story in a compelling way, using graphics to wow and not confuse, using body language to deliver with poise and power, and orchestrating proper cadence. The book abounds with great examples, and Weissman provides web access to view the video clips of many of the examples he refers to. These clips are worth the price of the book and include outstanding presentations of Ronald Reagan, contrasting examples of passionless a Bob Dole and fiery Barack Obama, Generals Neal and Schwarzkopf, Kennedy/Nixon in debate; George Bush’s dramatic improvements before and after being coached, Libby Dole’s dramatic invasion of the audience,the monumental errors by a cranky and negative Ross Perot and much more. If you give talks or presentations you will not regret this investment.
Review by Rolf Dobelli for The Power Presenter: Technique, Style, and Strategy from America’s Top Speaking Coach
Rating:
Many people would rather try to flush a snarling bobcat down the toilet than give a speech. Indeed, individuals often rate public speaking as a primary fear. Delivering a speech summons the same jacked-up “fight or flight” response that animals depend upon to survive predator attacks. Your breathing rate shoots through the roof. You cannot think clearly. You are suddenly in severe physical crisis. Unfortunately, when you give a speech, you cannot fight your way out of trouble or run away from it. Instead, you must somehow stand there calmly, and speak in a coherent, compelling fashion. Premier speaking coach Jerry Weissman shows how to quell those stressful feelings. In this clearly written book – which features an attractive design that makes his examples particularly easy to follow – he provides a comprehensive set of public speaking techniques to help you win over any audience. getAbstract is glad to speak up for this book and its fascinating case histories about famous speakers, including an insightful analysis of the fateful 1960 U.S. presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon. History might have been different if Nixon had read Weissman’s book before he went on TV. If you hope to rise in sales or business, not to mention politics, you must be able to give a great presentation – this book will show you how.
Review by Jeff Lippincott for The Power Presenter: Technique, Style, and Strategy from America’s Top Speaking Coach
Rating:
I liked this book. It was definitely well written and well outlined. Books on this subject are hard to write. They are typically not very popular. And they rarely do a good job of educating the reader how to be better public speakers. I should know since back in 2005 I was a very active member of two Toastmasters clubs in South Carolina. I looked for books on public speaking to help me rush through the Toastmasters programs. I didn’t find many books that were particularly helpful. But I did rush through the first two of four public speaking programs in my first six months and became an Advanced Toastmaster Bronze. That’s 20 five to seven minute talks in 6 months.
What I learned was that you get better with public speaking with practice. A coach like the author of this book may help. But he’s kind of expensive and he’s only going to give you his perspective on how you need to improve. My advice, join one or two Toastmasters (Toastmasters dot org) clubs and get involved. Learn by doing – not reading.
There are a few books you may want to read besides the instant one being reviewed. Yes, I recommend you read the instant book. But also consider reading the following: Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story; In The SpotLight, Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Performing; Speak With Confidence : Powerful Presentations That Inform, Inspire and Persuade; The Confident Speaker; The Complete Guide To Public Speaking; and The Exceptional Presenter: A Proven Formula to Open Up and Own the Room.
Most people have a fear for public speaking. I found the secret to being successful at it was to simplify the talk into a series of short stories. Never try to memorize lines. Just tell stories. It’s really that simple. And the better you organize those stories and pick good stories, then the better your talks will be. You will want to use good body language, but that is not all that difficult to do if you enjoy telling your stories and try to make them interesting.
The biggest problem I had with this book was the way the author kept trying to self-promote himself. I didn’t need to hear too much about his background in the book. All I wanted to read about was how he advises his clients to be better public speakers. I also did not appreciate all the examples of public speakers who were famous. Too much name dropping. And I certainly didn’t need to hear so much about Barack Obama. That guy’s not a public speaker. He a great teleprompt reader. There’s a difference!
But all in all this is a pretty good book on the subject of public speaking. I highly recommend you read it along with the other books cited above after you enroll in a Toastmasters club. The clubs are very inexpensive to join and they will make you a great public speaker if you are serious about it. 4 stars!