Author Q&A

Public Speaking Super Powers uses the metaphor of superheroes with their super powers to identify and explain the foundational skills needed to be an effective speaker. It covers skills that come from within, such as passion and authenticity, as well as skills that come from without, such as body language and persuasion.

That could be a long story, but I'll try to keep it short. It all started with a blog post. It was very popular, so I thought that it could be easily expanded into a book. I wrote the book, in part, because the idea was there and it excited me. But I also wrote the book because I found that there are very few—if any—books out there that cover the whole set of skills required to be an effective speaker. Most focus on one small aspect, such as TED talks or persuasive speaking. Public Speaking Super Powers was created to be a strong foundational book that will give readers the basics they need to communicate before groups effectively.

The book is primarily written with entrepreneurs and business owners in mind. However, I think that the fun super power motif will appeal to high school and college readers. If you want to understand the basics of effective speaking, you should read this book. Not only does it identify the foundational skills, but it gives you information and exercises so that you can develop those skills yourself.

So many people look at professional speakers as if they were superheroes. I wanted to turn that concept on its ear. And, the super power motif is a lot of fun, too.

I started off with a basic idea of what I thought they were. Then I interviewed more than 85 speakers from the business and professional speaking worlds about what they thought their super powers were. Using the data I collected from these interviews, it became pretty clear what the foundational skills -- super powers -- of effective speaking were.

When all is said and done, it is a skill. It can be learned by anyone. That said, some people are born with predispositions and personalities that will make it easier for them to master the skills of speaking. But that is not necessarily the same thing as talent. In fact, I have a whole chapter dedicated to this very question.