Public Speaking for Dummies Paperback – January 1, 2004

I ordered this book for my daughter as a supplement to the speech class she was taking in high school. The speech teacher did not do well in explaining how to write the different genre speeches so this book really helped out. The book is easy to follow and read and it was fairly priced. There are other editions of the book and I think they are similar and I would recommend them all.

I used this book for the class I taught at a College along with some others. This is an in-your-face, to the point, more of an outline type of book that gives you the key points of public speaking. The only small issue I had was that some of the website links that were listed in the book were not available or not working. The little cartoon at the beginning of each chapter is very cute. It definitely follows the pattern of the "Dummies" series.

Wow this is a very thorough book and many tips to be given. I highly recommend this to anyone who has to speak in front of any size group for any topic. It's easy to read. It sounds like the author is just talking to you. Nothing is over dramatized and not too wordy.

I love most all the 'for Dummies' books that I can get my hands on. They are always right to the points that I want to learn about and I love the way that they are structured.

This book covered a lot of info, so I'll start by stating its strengths. This book would be a great book for a business profession who was required to give pre-written speeches, introduce other speakers, or do other types of professional, business oriented speaking. It covered great details about writing speeches, body language, etc.However, it was extremely weak in covering informal and online speaking engagements. In fact, while it mentioned speaking in coffee houses, it didn't give any relative tips. Inspirational speakers will get little if anything out of this book. If you are going to be speaking in an interactive setting with small group of people or online, this is not the book for you. I was extremely let down by the contents.I also want to mention that while it addressed stage fright, the content there was extremely weak as well. With an entire chapter on the subject, it didn't contain any really helpful tips. Suggesting you use the adrenalin it to give yourself an edge - with no tips on how to do that. Suggesting arriving early to calm your fears (again, not practical for online meetings where you are waiting for someone else to initiate them or show up). Essentially, it sounded like a lot of platitudes than anything remotely helpful -- however, if you are speaking in a corporate setting, they might be helpful, but since that isn't my platform, it wasn't.

I am starting my speaking career and this book was recommended by a fellow speaker. I am actually enjoying getting my speech together with the great suggestions in this book!

The book seems great. I am resisting reading it as I do notreally want to be a public speaker. I know when I need it andI read it; I will learn enough to pull off an appearance for anorganization I recently took on the job of representing. I gaveit only four stars as it is not Magic! Grrrr ://

If a book could help quickly, it was this one.