No less an authority on communication skills than President Ronald Reagan described Larry Tracy as "an extraordinarily effective speaker." In this book, he provides the "real world" experience-based lessons in presentation skills that earned him such praise. Like his acclaimed workshops for corporate executives and government officials, this book is based on the assumption that people who must improve their presentation skills, but are pressed for time, require a "shortcut," not lengthy books with numerous tips, checklists and page-filling anecdotes. This book provides precisely that: A succinct, timesaving method for busy people to become better, more persuasive speakers.
The system outlined in the book is a three step process: In Planning, you'll learn how to "Get to the Point" and intersect your objective with your audience's needs and problems through Larry's proven 3-1-2 System. You will also learn how to always have a "Plan B Presentation" ready for those occasions when your allotted time is reduced at the last minute. In Practicing, you'll learn how to hone your speaking skills, eliminate "uh's" and "Y'knows," and anticipate questions and objections before the presentation with a unique practice method. In Presenting, you'll learn to convert your nervousness to audience-connecting enthusiasm, and to develop and use visuals, including PowerPoint slides, so they complement, not distract from, your message. You'll learn as well how to employ your voice and body language to reinforce content, including the use of rhetorical devices to make your presentations eloquent, memorable and persuasive.
In summary, this book will show you how to organize and deliver your knowledge with laser-like intensity targeted to solving the problems of your various "audiences"-- Boards of Directors, shareholders, clients, customers, etc.-- so these audiences conclude that (1) what you are proposing is in their best interests, and (2) you are an outstanding speaker. This book has so much practical and proven advice, presented in a clear and easy-to-learn manner, that you will never need to buy another book on presentation skills.
About the Author: Larry Tracy is a retired U.S. Army colonel with extensive speaking experience under difficult conditions. He formerly headed the Pentagon's top briefing team, responsible for daily intelligence presentations to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense and other Defense Department officials. Because of his reputation for exceptional speaking skills, the State Department requested the Army to assign him to State for the specific purpose of defending and debating controversial foreign policy issues. He proceeded to speak and debate almost 400 times before some of the most demanding, even hostile, audiences in the country, leading then-President Ronald Reagan to describe him as "an extraordinarily effective speaker."
