Overcoming Your Fear of Public Speaking: A Proven Method

This is an excellent book, clearly the best on the subject that I have read. In just 140 pages, it explains why delivering a speech is a common problem to many people, and more important: how can one effectively overcome that problem. The arguments used by the author are based on actual teaching experiences, and are presented intelligently and with a clear structure: The first chapter explains three main factors that intervene in creating speech anxiety. The second chapter starts with a questionnaire to gauge anxiety levels, and defines the symptoms and factors associated with that common ailment. Chapter three suggests the adoption of a "communication orientation" instead of the prevalent "performance orientation" as the most important step in overcoming public speaking anxiety, and delivering a "good" speech. Chapter four suggests an approach to achieve a comfortable and effective speech delivery. The fifth chapter explains several key points regarding speech content. The last chapter reviews the book and provides a summary of key themes. All chapters are complemented with exercises and there is a brief bibliography of 14 references at the end. Bottom line: an excellent handbook on the subject.