Secrets Of Superstar Speakers: Wisdom from the Greatest Motivators of Our Time [Paperback]

Lilly Walters (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071347070 | ISBN-13: 978-0071347075 | Publication Date: January 27, 2000 | Edition: 1

Top speakers such as Anthony Robbins and Lou Holtz reveal how they work their magic. Using the same winning formula that propelled her Secrets of Successful Speakers to sales of over 85,000 copies, best-selling author Lilly Walters examines what makes the cream-of-the-crop motivational speakers stand above the rest. She interviews or does detailed profiles 19 superstars--including Maya Angelou, Les Brown, Jack Canfield, Deepak Chopra, Stephen Covey, Sir Winston Leonard Spenser Churchill, Elizabeth Dole, Mark Victor Hansen, Lou Holtz, Vince Lombardi, Sr. and Jr., Earl Nightingale, Norman Vincent Peale, Christopher Reeve, Anita Roddick, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Dottie Walters, and Zig Ziglar. Perhaps more importantly, she interviews hundreds whose lives have been changed when they heard the words of these superstar speakers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The world's top speakers and motivators reveal how they work their magic. Discover what motivates some of the world's most famous speakers to develop the messages and skills that have made them successful, influential, and rich. Their hard-earned, insider secrets are collected here to help you become a more effective speaker and deliver memorable messages that motivate. Lilly Walters, author of the bestselling Secrets of Successful Speakers, now shares the formative life experiences and proven motivational techniques of a wide variety of world-class speakers, including Tony Robbins and Deepak Chopra, Lou Holtz, Anita Roddick, Norman vincent Peale, Mark Victor Hansen, Elizabeth Dole, and others. You'll learn how all of these very different personalities discovered their unique sources of inspiration, what methods they developed to motivate others, and how they learned to fine-tune clear, persuasive messages that touch the hearts and minds of millions every day. Told in their own words with humor and passion, the true stories of these superstars reveal that many have struggled against adversity to earn the wisdom of their ideas and master the craft of persuasive public speaking. From the lessons they've learned comes a wealth of tips on speaking mthods, attitude, presentation, handling stage fright, and story telling that will help both beginning and advanced speakers. A one-of-a-kind source of inspirational wisdom from the creme de la creme of the speaking world. Secrets of Successful Speakers is a must-read for all speakers.

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 241 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (January 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071347070
• ISBN-13: 978-0071347075
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a book to buy if you want the basics, August 11, 2005

By 

Gabrielle Lichterman (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets Of Superstar Speakers: Wisdom from the Greatest Motivators of Our Time (Paperback)

I really wasn't as enthused about this book as the other reviewers. And I'm writing my review because I based my purchase of this book on the many glowing reviews preceding mine.

I bought Secrets of Superstar Speakers thinking I would learn the tips the superstar speakers used so I could use them myself. But Walters only superficially goes into those tips. And many of these tips were obvious and seemed to be "filler". For instance, one section tells you how to stay motivated in the lean years, and tips from "superstars" include: loving what you do, hanging in there, there's no quick fix, and having faith. This advice sounded trite and isn't much help to a reader who's looking for simple speaking tips.

When Walters finally touches on practical and useful superstar tips, she delves into them only superficially and often advises the reader to read her other previously published books to learn more. In fact, Walters plugs her other books quite a bit throughout.

I was also disappointed that the only superstar speakers Walters discusses are motivational speakers. I hadn't realized this was going to be the case, despite the subtitle "Wisdom from the greatest motivators of our time." I thought this book would include great businesspeople, salespeople, lecturers, who are also talented motivators (they motivate you to buy, sell, do, etc.). If you've got more than Tony Robbins-type motivation to talk about, then this book is not for you.

I also felt that Walter's advice was repetetive. She would suggest a tip only to repeat it again on the same page and the next page and the next. Funny enough, the tip to repeat your message was repeated ad nauseum.

The grammar and writing skills were sorely lacking, which was distracting and detracting. To wit, on page 226: "As you put all of these skills on the platform, remembering to appear natural and unrehearsed, takes a great deal of preparation and practice." Sentences like this had me shaking my head.

Only when you get to the last 40 or so pages, you get good meaty tips, which is why I gave this review 2 stars instead of just 1. But the rest of the book is really just superficial filler about motivational speakers.

Finally, I have to say that I also found it offensive that the author managed to squeeze in references to God, religion and Christianity on practically every page. It doesn't seem to occur to her that her readers might be of another religion or might not be religious at all. And since this is not a book about religion, I felt the vast number of religious references were entirely unwarranted.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, April 26, 2001

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets Of Superstar Speakers: Wisdom from the Greatest Motivators of Our Time (Paperback)

Lilly Walters focuses on the success stories of 19 top speakers and their hints for speaking well. She highlights their backgrounds, turning points and key sayings, and then provides tips on becoming a top speaker using their methods for developing and giving effective presentations. Hearing what these speakers say about the principles of good speechmaking is interesting, but their "insider" tips are pretty obvious, even to an outsider. Most of their advice is widely known within the speaking industry and is presented here repetitively. Don't be put off by the "read this resume" nature of the initial introductions, because they put the speakers in context and show their success. We [...] recommend this book to virgin public speakers or those who want a refreshing booster, to those who book big-name talkers, or to those who like to read recreationally about celebrities and their ideas.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Secrets Filled with Wisdom, March 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Secrets Of Superstar Speakers: Wisdom from the Greatest Motivators of Our Time (Paperback)

If you are a speaker, want to be a speaker or just love listening to speakers, you will love this book. The "Secrets" of the Superstar Speakers are packed with wisdom and insight. You'll love learning about your favorites plus gain valuable information for any area of your life in which you want to succeed.