Brian Tracy: Speak to Win – 5 Stars
I admit this book was a bit of an indulgence for me. Something just for fun. I generally read books around leadership and solving significant problems in organizations. However, a friend recently reminded me of the value in organizations like Toastmasters. Public speaking is a bit of a personal passion and interest of mine, although lately I’ve made less opportunities to do it. So when Brian’s book came back to the top of my list, I looked forward to hearing what he had to say. I’m also a big fan of Zig Ziglar and watching TED talks to see what techniques they use in being such compelling speakers.
Brian’s book is classy and classic at the same time. A friend and mentor of mine, Bill Horst, told me he met Brian on a plane years ago, and he came away with the impression that Brian is very methodical and detail oriented in solving problems for his guests and consulting clients. That really comes through in this book. If you look at the cover, you can tell Brian is part of the 1980s and 1990s movement of speakers and writers. The cover is a classic red white and blue with bold, clear lettering. It is a tried and true methodology for clarity. These days you definitely have to have a different color scheme, but the contents of the book are still fresh and relevant to today’s audiences. To date I have had maybe two books this year that I value more highly than this one, but only because they are related to significant challenges I’m attempting to handle in my current company or related to a book that I am writing and publishing later this year. As far as standing on its own, this book is strong and can do that. And Brian is an excellent narrator, as you expect a public speaker to be. With that in mind, I rate this book quite highly, and below are some of the highlights I experienced as I went through this training.
In chapter 2, Brian discusses the prep method for organizing your speech. He offers several different ways of organizing, giving you a variety of tools to use.
Brian is very well spoken, just like he advises us to be in our presentations. He speaks at a slow pace, stays calm, and offers a lot of direct, tactical value with what he is discussing. This is a very practical audiobook. In chapter 2, Brian goes over common PowerPoint mistakes and techniques for how to use it better. Some are classic, and some are still fresh pieces of advice.
In chapter 3, Brian provides relaxation techniques and confidence-building techniques to help you calm the butterflies associated with public speaking. It’s a pretty good list, and I learned a few new things from it.
One of my favorite chapters is chapter 9. Here he talks about the kind of money one can make as a speaker. He breaks it down from the people that make the least amount to those that make the most amount. This is insightful and in my opinion makes the book worth buying, all on its own. Often times, insider knowledge about how an industry works like film or comics and how much money people can earn is tough to get. His discussion gives you a sense of the potential you can reach as a public speaker and where you might fit eventually in a career in public speaking.
Chapter 10 is also one of my favorite chapters. He points out the very common problem of controlling the temperature and room arrangements for your presentations. I don’t know that I have ever heard this in any book, video, or class on the subject. Five stars for this chapter alone.
Chapter 12 talks about presenting as a form of sales. He gives a basic approach to sales with a brief look at the sales decision cycle. It provides a nice way to wrap up the end of the book. Brian correlates the sales process to the three-step process doctors used to 1. examine you, 2. create a potential diagnosis, and then 3. create a treatment. That is quite a phenomenal way of looking at the sales process. He is using this to teach you that you can’t just sell what you have. That you must first learn what they need, propose a solution, and then deliver on that solution. Pretty smart, when you look at it like that.
Brian’s book is concise and practical. I highly recommend it. It is about 95% meat and 5% potatoes. That means it has almost all practical knowledge and very little platitudes and inspiration speak. As mentioned above, he’s an excellent narrator, so the audible experience is great.
I tend to listen or read business or technical books all the time. You can see…
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