Secrets of Successful Speakers: How You Can Motivate, Captivate, and Persuade [Hardcover]

Lilly Walters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1993

How do highly paid professional speakers put magic and motivation into every talk? Lilly Walters, Executive Director of Walters International Speakers Bureau, reveals their secrets and strategies in this practical, conversational guide. Mark Twain reputedly said it took him three weeks to prepare an impromptu speech, but readers of "Secrets of Successful Speakers" should be able to do it in days - or minutes. This book spells out the rules in 11 easy-to-follow steps, each accompanied by interactive exercises. Readers will learn to: set objectives before writing; customize the talk for each audience; conquer stage fright; cultivate a reputation as an expert; develop themes for each presentation; organize material in a memorable manner; edit for best effect; project a professional "platform image" through personality, voice and clothes; motivate audiences to change their actions and attitudes; involve listeners by using humour, heart and audience participation exercises and deal with problems and pitfalls ranging from poor staging and faulty audiovisual equipment to hecklers and questions of ethics. This authoritative and accessible guide also contains anecdotes of well-known personalities and how they mastered the art of public speaking. It should be a useful reference for trainers, lawyers, doctors, managers, and everyone who makes presentations or gives talks.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lilly Walters (Glendora, CA) is the executive director of Walters International Speakers Bureau, which accesses 36,000 speakers, conducts seminars, and publishes Sharing Ideas, the world's largest magazine for the professional speaking industry. She is the author of Secrets of Successful Speakers and coauthor of Speak & Grow Rich. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill (July 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070680337
• ISBN-13: 978-0070680333
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,699,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book on Public Speaking, June 12, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Secrets of Successful Speakers: How You Can Motivate, Captivate, and Persuade (Paperback)

Psychological studies show that the average person fears public speaking more than death. Well, this book can quickly help overcome that very negative and unfortunate reaction.

The author is the head of a major speaking bureau, so she knows what works and what doesn't. Otherwise, she wouldn't have any business. To improve on her perspective, she also interviewed 60 of the top paid speakers in the country and liberally quoted them in the text to this book. These quotes and examples are fascinating.

She assumes that you are not a famous paid speaker now, so builds her points as simply and clearly as possible -- as a top speaker would.

The book has one chapter that is worth 10 times the cost of the book -- how to overcome hostile audiences and problems that occur. I have never seen so many witty lines and fun things to do in an otherwise stressful situation! Mastering the material in this chapter would be enough to turn anyone into a confident speaker.

Ms. Walters uses the analogy of planting, nurturing and caring for a tree to explain her concepts of public speaking. That makes everything much more tangible and familiar.

At the end, she summarizes the most important points into four areas -- just in case you missed the punch line along the way.

I especially liked the way she used counterexamples to make her point. She describes and quotes Stew Leonard, Jr. who often does just the opposite of what the book suggests. But he is successful because he is authentic, cares for his audience, and is sincere.

Although I know a lot of public speakers, do paid public speaking myself, and read a lot about public speaking, I found that more than half of the material in this book was new to me. And it all made good common sense. So I'm converted!

Learn to enjoy speaking to others and to better serve them in grasping things you care about that will help them. It can be very rewarding personally and financially for them and you!

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lilly takes you by the hand tells you how to do it right., January 21, 1999

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of Successful Speakers: How You Can Motivate, Captivate, and Persuade (Paperback)

This dynamite book is for every speaker; The beginner and the pro. Easy to read, easy to digest and follow tips for organization and delivery; she boils things down to the bottom line, the important takeaways from her own experience and the experiences of others. I began taking notes the minute I began to read. I wrote down things like: Make love to your audience. Stay green and growing for each new audience. Make fear your slave not your master. Turn every presentation over to the Lord. Watch our for ad libbing under stress. Approach each audience with an attitude of generous love. Replace fearful self worries with audience benefits. What do you want your listeners to do differently after they hear you? Tell yourself, "Today I get to do what I love to do." Now I take Lilly Walters wisdom with me every time I speak. It goes before me, stays with me helping and guiding me all along the way. Every time I am hit with 'dry mouth' before a speech, I think of Lilly and her lemon story. She showed me how to develop my own three important takeaways. Comments from my last presentation included words like 'she captivated her audience,' 'left them spellbound,' ''her message of help and hope was heard loud and clear' etc. Thanks Lilly. You helped me grow, you helped me conquer my fear, you helped me organize my material and most importantly, I will always remember your words, "Lord, let me be a channel of your love." That's what it is really all about.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A potent concoction of surefire tips and techniques, November 7, 2002

By 

Spencer S Tay (Georgetown) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of Successful Speakers: How You Can Motivate, Captivate, and Persuade (Paperback)

This is certainly one of the best books on public speaking I've read. The only other work that deserves special mention is Jack Valenti's Speak Up with Confidence. Walters gives surefire tips and techniques that are recipe for a successful presentation that may inspire for years.

Her crisp advice on the main requirements of a speech of "passion and compassion with a purpose" is very potent and often leaps off my mind each time I prepare to instruct or make a speech. Walters has carefully drawn from the "secrets" of public speaking pros and concocted them into a surefire formula for success. What's more, her anecdotes and quotes are both entertaining and memorable.

I found myself a better speaker even after reading and applying steps 1 and 2. Wait till I conquer step 11! Thank you Lilly Walters for an absolutely inspiring and terrific book.