by Robin Kermode
This is an absolutely fantastic book that wholeheartedly delivers on it’s title ‘SPEAK, so your audience will listen.’
I very much agree with the author that every human being should know how to speak authentically and effectively. The fundamentals set out in this book teach you how to effectively speak in front of an audience regardless of the occasion; whether it is a wedding speech, a family or community occasion, a business presentation, selling a product or some other form of public speaking!
Robin Kermode is a highly accomplished actor, who in his early twenties found himself to be a gibbering wreck when it was time to deliver a best man’s speech. He realised that not having the usual actors ‘cover’ or ‘mask’ of ‘being someone else’ exposed the greatest fear that ‘people would see the real person that we were’ and that ‘we would not be good enough’.
It was this experience that set him on a journey of understanding how to speak effectively to an audience and developing 7 clear steps to help others. These 7 Steps make up the 7 Chapters of the book:
1- Nerves
2- Confidence
3- Connection
4- Voice
5- Body Language
6- Structure
7- Delivery
In the years I have been involved in public speaking and helping others to be more effective speakers, I have encountered numerous “points of failure’ in each of the above listed 7 elements. Kermode comprehensively leaves no stone unturned in addressing all of these most common ‘points of failure’. He provides insightful guidance on preparation, mindset, tips and tricks to avoid or deal with just about every situation I have encountered or watched someone else encounter, be it about preparation, mindset or technology. Kermode even provides some brilliant guidance of the dos and don’ts of using powerpoint, which as I read it made me smile as I thought of all those presentations (including my own) that would have been much more effective had Kermode’s wisdom been applied.
It is not a long book to read, but it is packed with insights and in my opinion it is almost impossible to read it and not become a more effective speaker or presenter as a result. I will be heartily recommending this book to all of my clients.
