Start with an earthquake -- - Tim Stockil

Using this book, readers can explore what gives a speech impact, through language, gesture, vocal variety and rhetorical devices. It focuses on making a speech more creative, and advises how preparing yourself practically, physically, vocally and emotionally can help banish speech-day panic. It also clarifies why PowerPoint is generally unhelpful (and almost always badly used) and reveals a fool-proof method for constructing a speech from the initial idea to the final delivery.

Tim Stockil spent ten years in the theatre as a director before moving into training, so he understands both the concept of top quality performance and how to draw it out of even the most nervous and tongue-tied subject. Central to his method is to ensure that you have both a topic (what your speech is about) and an objective (what you want your audience to feel and do as a result of your presentation). Stockil insists that no speech should ever just be about imparting information, though many people in business fail to realise this. With his theatrical background, he shows how to rehearse properly - again, something that most business people fail to do.

Stockil peppers the text with real-life experiences of his 25 years of running courses on presentation skills and coaching people one-to-one. Readers will find examples of speeches and the people who gave them, successful and otherwise. These include a long extract from a very powerful contemporary speech, which is accompanied by notes which demonstrate why it is so effective.

Start With an Earthquake... is ideal for those who work in business or have to face presentations on a daily basis. However, the book would also be helpful to anyone making a speech, from a wedding to the Rotary Club.