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Present Like a Pro Book Review

Present Like a Pro Book Review

The very best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance -- Ruth Gordon

An American actress and screenwriter, Ruth Gordon was correct when she was asked how she gave so many excellent impromptu speeches. Write them well in advance. Practice them until they become second nature.

Present Like a Pro will not make you a polished professional speaker. But it does provide some outstanding insights into what you need to consider when you want to improve your speaking and presentation capabilities.

Maxey and O’Connor provide some excellent points on how to continually improve your speaking skills and become more comfortable and effective with your presentations. Each chapter covers a specific point and subject. The authors present the information in a clear, concise manner that makes it easy to digest and recall at a later time.

What we found particularly interesting, informative and useful were the periodic insertion of boxed comments coach’s comments, professional pointers, common questions/solutions and personal observations.

In addition to speaking at every opportunity, one of the items we have found to be immensely helpful to us is to watch and study the presentations of successful people.

We enjoyed watching and analyzing the presentations and techniques that GE’s Jack Welch used. We admire the smooth polish that Apple’s Steve Jobs possesses. We find the different approaches that Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer use to be very interesting. It has been interesting to see Intel’s Paul Otellini grow as a spokesperson for the company. The CEA’s president Gary Shapiro has perfected his presentation techniques before friendly audiences and less than friendly congressional committees.

Reading Present Like a Pro can certainly help you understand and learn basic and advanced techniques for nearly every occasion. But we also believe that your management and you can learn a lot simply by watching and analyzing presentations and speeches by people in your industry. We feel the book is both interesting and informative and when combined with studying the presentation skills of other nearly anyone can become an effective speaker. The key is to take advantage of every speaking opportunity presentations, public events, conferences/seminars as well as business meetings.

While most books we have read on the subject place most of the emphasis on you the speaker and your techniques, Maxey and O’Connor place considerable emphasis on your audience. We found their advice for speakers to solicit feedback and their advice on handling the unruly individual in the audience. Fortunately that’s never been something we have confronted or even thought about so the advice was of considerable assistance.

If you do nothing more than skip read Present Like a Pro and spend most of your time reading and rereading the boxed Coach’s Comments and Hints from the Pros, you are well on your way to mastering the art of business and professional speaking. These highlighted segments almost make you feel as though you have a speech coach looking over your shoulder as you read the book.

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Present Like a Pro Book Review - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.

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David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website

Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website


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Andy Marken
(Visit Andy's Website) G. A. "Andy" Marken President Marken Communications, Inc. Santa Clara, CA Andy has worked in front of and behind the TV camera and radio mike. Unlike most PR people he listens to and understands the consumer’s perspective on the actual use of products. He has written more than 100 articles in the business and trade press. During this time he has also addressed industry issues and technologies not as corporate wishlists but how they can be used by normal people. He has been a marketing and communications consultant for more than 30 years involved in the wild early days of the Internet/Web, heyday of the videogame industry and the maturing professional and consumer video industries. His experience includes years with Internet pioneer CERFnet, TCG and AT&T. Andy has worked in the software, Web 2.0, video and storage industry with Panasonic, Philips, Dazzle, Atari, NTI, ADS Tech, Pinnacle Systems, CyberLink, InterVideo, Ulead and Verbatim.

Andy Marken is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com
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