The Epic Keynote - a Review

Yesterday, I reviewed several books I've read this year in my Win Anyway Blog. Two of those books, The Art of Doing and You are a Badass, had some good lessons for speakers, but were still motivational in nature enough that I included them in that batch of reviews. The only true speaking book I've completed in 2016 is Jane Atkinson's 'The Epic Keynote' - which clearly belongs here!

I like Atkinson's style in general, and her book 'The Wealthy Speaker' is a great guide for beginners. Diving in this book, I was searching for a great keynote 'formula' that would make me look at what I'm doing in a whole new way.

What I got was the same old structure I always get, in the most simplified fashion possible.

Doesn't mean it's bad, however. In fact, it's filled with anecdotes from other speakers, almost to a fault. Atkinson seems more intent on compiling wisdom than chronicling her own.

The book covers a bit of old ground from The Wealthy Speaker, helping the reader identify the type of speaker they want to be, and who they should target. Then it hits the big topics - content, humor, style. It also talks about technology, storytelling, speaker's bureaus, and other ancillary aspects of the business, including finding a coach.

I did enjoy reading 'Tips From the Masters' and 'Flashpoints' from Mark Sanborn, Joe Heckler, Patricia Fripp, Darren LaCroix, and many, many others. I also found David Leiber's storytelling formula helpful.

It's easy to read, filled with short bits of accessible wisdom. If I'd picked it up 15 years ago, I'd be really impressed with it. If you're at the beginning of your journey in speaking, this is a great book for you. Just because it fell short of my likely too high expectations doesn't invalidate its content.

2 1/2 out of 4 Stars

52 Books in 52 Weeks - 2014 Challenge Wrap-Up

Below is my list of 52 books (which turned into 61 as I added new books along the way) that I set a goal to read and review in 2014. I only made it through 39 books, with the final review posted earlier today - but I feel like it was a successful year of reading nonetheless.

If there's a link - it'll take you to the review. The others are 'deadheads', books I haven't finished or, mostly, haven't even started. Estimated stats are about 5000 actual book pages combined with 160 hours of audio.

I have 25 books left over to read - some of which might drop off - so I'm looking at suggestions for 2015. I will not be reviewing every book, but in my Win Anyway Blog I'll be keeping weekly updates of my goals next year, so if you check in there, you'll know what I'm reading, with a brief rating.

I WILL, however, continue to review speaking books and products here in Speak & Deliver - so if you want me to check something out, especially something you've written - let me know. 8 of the 39 books reviewed this year were from friends, who either sent me their physical or electronic version of their masterpiece.

Thank you for following me on this journey. I feel great about what I've been able to expose myself to this year. 2/3 of my reading covered speaking, marketing, leadership, and inspiration - all parts of our speaking industry. While I did get a fair amount of repeat info, each book invariably gave me something either new to think about, or a new way to think about something I already knew.

Finally - even though I didn't review them, I also got to get back to my first love - comic books - just a little bit over the last month or so. You may have heard me talk about 'The Flash' on my Win Anyway Podcast - I've gotten to read two graphic novels collecting various storylines - the first comics I've read in at least a decade.

Again - give me your recommendations - and stay tuned, I get everything read....eventually!

1. Under The Dome - Stephen King - I've gotten about halfway through this, but put it down last year. Now that it's a hit TV show, I suppose I should finish it...

2. Moby Dick - Herman Melville - A classic I've never read, perhaps appropriate for contest season.

3. Book yourself Solid - Michael Port - I've never made it through this, because I want to actually do the exercises in it, not just browse it. Now's the time.

4. Think and Grow Rich, 61 & 62. The Law of Success, The Lost Prosperity Secrets, The Magic Ladder to Success - Napoleon Hill - delving into his other works, versus re-reading TAGR.

5. Black Book of Networking - Jeffrey Gitomer - it's been a few years - may choose the audible just to hear Jeffrey's encouraging voice.

6. From History's Shadow. A Star Trek book - Dayton Ward. A guilty pleasure I haven't allowed in years. TBD.

7. Presentation Zen - Garr Reynolds - hard to believe I haven't read this, actually.

8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - a SF/Fantasy Classic I have inexplicably never read.

9. The Complete Sherlock Holmes - Sir Conan Doyle - A book I've had for 30 years, just waiting for me to actually read it all. I've read a few stories, but not in the last 15 years.

10. The Message of You - Judy Carter - My top speaking book of 2013, a must re-read resource.

11. Million Dollar Speaking - Alan Weiss - I'm about halfway through this on Kindle, need to finish it.

12. World Class Speaking - Craig Valentine - As with the above, halfway through.

13. The Element - Ken Robinson - highly recommended from this TEDTalk icon.

14. The Bully Pulpit - Doris Kearns Goodwin - saw this in Barnes and Noble a couple weeks ago, and have since had several friends recommend it. At 928 pages, I may have to listen to it instead...

15. The Slight Edge - Jeff Olsen - another motivational classic that has slipped under my radar.

16. 80/20 - Perry Marshall - need to order it - the recommendation was through the roof.

17. Flowers For Algernon - Daniel Keyes - a literary classic I have avoided, but will give a try.

18. The Giver - Lois Lowry - never heard of it, but it has potential.

19. The Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela - perhaps the must-read auto-biography of the year for me.

20. Salt - Mark Kurlansky - I'm a bit leery of this, but perhaps it will add some flavor to my reading habits.

21. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak - no, I won't cheat and just rent the movie. Just.

22. Ishmael - Daniel Quinn - Have no idea what to expect here.

23. Improv for Storytellers - Keith Johnstone - Always good to brush up.

24. Go Giver - Bob Burg - a short business metaphor book, I assume.

25. Instant Influence - Michael Pantalon - easily persuaded to read this.

26. The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg - expect it to take 7 weeks to read

27. Leaders Eat Last - Simon Sinek - I need more leadership reading, I believe.

28. Comedy Writing Secrets - Mel Helitzer - ...and always need humor brush-ups as well.

29. Dave's Way - Dave Thomas - why not? Can I read it while eating a Baconator?

30. The Alchemist - Paulo Cuelho - shocked I haven't read this yet, actually.

31. The Attitude Check - Heath Suddleson - I bet if he sent me a signed copy I'd read it faster and review it here on Speak & Deliver :)

32. Dirty Little Secrets - Sharon Drew Morgen - this one too...(she didn't send me a copy, but I read it anyway.

33. How Successful People Think Differently - Akash Karia

34. Ted:ology - Akash Karia, Michelle Mazur - Akash is a prolific author, and it's time I spend some effort reading his work, and seeing what his ideas are, and how they can help my audience.

35. The Boy Behind the Gate - Larry Jacobson - another book I'd love to see come in the mail, wink wink.

36. Life of Pi - Yann Martel - enjoyed the movie, but everyone says the book is better.

37. Unstoppable - Nick Vujucic - been on my list a long time, actually.

38. The Barefoot Executive - Carrie Wilkerson - I've read the kindle, but want to listen to it and her dulcet, southern tones.

39. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook - Gary Vaynerchuck - loved Crush It - and Gary is a great reader, and often adds more to his audio books than what's in the printed edition.

40. Living an Exceptional Life - Jim Rohn - always worth a listen.

41. Talent is Never Enough Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn - John Maxwell - back before I got involved with speaking, I bought a Maxwell book in preparation to become a manager. Since then, I've read nothing else from him. That changes this year.

42. Little Green Book of Getting Your Way - Jeffrey Gitomer - on Audible, most likely.

43. Decisive - Chip & Dan Heath - listening to this now, actually, at least earlier today, at the gym.

44. The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz - long on my list.

45. Drive - Daniel Pink - next one cued up on Audible

Audio Programs to Listen or Re-Listen to in 2014

46. Speaker Machine – Rick Butts/Felicia Slattery - with lifetime access, why not?

47. Wisdom Thesis - Rick Butts - see above.

48. Own the Stage - Darren LaCroix/Craig Valentine - worth a second look, always pumps me up.

49. How to Build a Keynote by Next Week - Darren LaCroix/Patricia Fripp - sharpen the saw. How to 

50. Outline, Design, and Deliver a Dynamic Sales Presentation - Patricia Fripp - newly acquired, and looking forward to it.

51. Mastering Your Speech - Lance Miller - probably need to watch this before seeing him at the training later this month.

52. Create Your Killer Keynote - Craig Valentine - more keynote info to just keep getting better.

53. Lady and the Champs 2013 - Various - about halfway through this.

54. Get More Laughs - Darren LaCroix - you can never laugh enough.

Extra Books & Programs Added on the Fly

55. The Media Training Bible - Brad Phillips - getting interviewed more in 2014 is a goal

56. Speaker Leader Champion - Ryan Avery & Jeremey Donovan - just cause I'm curious

57. Epic Content Marketing - Joe Pulizzi - because I'm a marketing Junkie

58. Speak Up For Your Business - Michelle Mazur - cause, well, we're friends :)

59. Own Your Industry - Douglas Kruger - see above :)

60. amazon's Dirty Little Secrets - Greg Jameson - local author and friend

61. 11 Deadly Presentation Sins - Rob Biesenbach

How To Win the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking: A Book Review

The first time I became aware of Jeremy Donovan's new book, How to Win the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking (non-affiliate link), it was via email, from a fellow veteran of the 'Big Stage', as they asked me 'Have you seen this?' and 'Do you know this guy?' Both valid questions, both of which I answered 'no!'

The second time I became aware of the book wasn't exactly ideal, either. An email came to me through my Toastmasters leadership address, as the author let me know about his book and suggested I forward his request to give out a free copy to our district's International Speech Contestant. Generous, in one sense, but, in my mindset, and the mindset of many other district leaders around the world, it came across as 'SPAM', and a misuse of internal emails, made doubly egregious by the fact that he, in fact, was a Toastmaster himself.

You'd think things couldn't get worse from there. But they did. In my typical, type first, ask questions later manner, I facebooked about this situation, without naming the book or the author, giving the book three strikes. It was meant to be a throwaway comment, but it created a bit of a firestorm, especially when Mr. Donovan actually joined the thread to defend his actions, and his title, which I had criticized as offering a 'bloviated claim'. After all, the author hadn't stepped foot on the 'Big Stage' himself, certainly hadn't won it, and it's truly impossible to tell someone exactly how to win a contest of any sort, be it the the World Championship of Public Speaking (WCPS), the Super Bowl, or the World Series of Poker.

All that is said to put this review in it's proper perspective. Despite it all, I was intrigued, and went ahead and spent the $2.99 for the Kindle version, intent to put everything aside and see if this book had any merit at all. I wasn't hopeful.

but...I was pleasantly surprised.

Ed Hearn
2006 World Champion

The book features the text of all nine speakers in the 2012 Championship, something we haven't seen in a book before. Ed Hearn, Douglas Wilson and I put our nine speeches (from District, Region, and the Championship, back when you needed three speeches, instead of two, to win the contest) into our book 'Win, Place & Show', back in 2006, and I was able to get all the finalists to write a chapter each about their own experience in the contest in 2008, in our book 'The Finalists' (available for free on my website), but Mr. Donovan truly pulls a coup by getting all nine speeches into his book.

With those points scored, he then focuses on nine aspects of giving a 'World Championship' speech, through both analysis of the speeches themselves, and an extended study of winning speeches going back to 1986. The author clearly loves research, data, and statistics, as the book is full of them, from how many laughs per minute to percentage of winners from different positions in the speaking order to what percentage of winners ran off the stage vs. shaking the hand of the contest chair vs. waving as they left. (My personal, if painful, favorite, was LaShunda Rundles 'flying' off the stage in our contest in 2008.)

He breaks down the elements of a winning speech as follows:

Taking the Stage - how do you begin, essentially
Topic Selection - always a subject of debate among students and participants of the contest
Storytelling - including story construction, selection, and pattern
Humor and Emotional Range - laughter, tears, and everything in-between
Language - big vs. small words, sentence structure, title selection
Verbal Delivery - volume, speed, pauses
Non-Verbal Delivery - use of the stage, gestures
Mindset - what do you focus on, how do you approach practicing - the most 'motivational' chapter
Leaving the Stage - pausing, how you plan your 'exit strategy'

He concludes with an interesting chapter about his own thoughts on who he thought would win, and why, and then has to admit he didn't actually pick the right winner. Honesty is good - who wins these contests is often a crapshoot.

Therein lies my only remaining complaint about the book. A 'How-To' book, in my mind, should give me a specific, reliable result if I follow the steps. Building a table, fixing a flat tire, building a marketing list, etc. No one, not even a champion, can give you all the steps, with certainty, that will allow you to win this contest. If nothing else, the contest is a zero-sum game, so if two contestants all do everything perfect and identically to the other, only one of them can actually win.

The contest relies on fallible human judges, who may or may not like your speech based not on the judging criteria, but by their own life experience, or even, subconsciously, if they like your tie or choice of dress vs. pantsuit.

LaShunda Rundles, 2008 World Champion

In addition, while he does cover mindset, a key missing component is 'Heart'. Most likely because it is an intangible, immeasurable component in speaking and competing, which one can't distill into a statistic. One cannot watch LaShunda Rundles speech without seeing her whole essence brought to the stage.

Most importantly of all, Lady Luck truly plays a part as well. Just as a football game is occasionally won or lost based on the odd bounce of the pigskin, a speech contest can be won or lost based on a microphone malfunction, the fact that two other people in your bracket spoke on the same subject, or a better speaker got lost getting to the contest that day.

The real promise in this book, the one it fulfills, is telling you how others have won the contest, how some have come close, how some have fallen short. It offers signposts to greater success and warnings against certain failure. It offers 'best practices' and is, at least for this serial contestant (seven time semifinalist, two time finalist), a fascinating read, whetting my appetite for the competition in 2014.

In the end, I enjoyed the book. If you're a Toastmaster, and particularly a contestant, spend the three bucks and give it read. The author has done a tremendous amount of work in compiling his data, interviewing the participants and many past champions. It is the most complete analysis of championship speeches I have seen to date. If you're not a Toastmaster, you might get lost in some of the idiosyncrasies of the contest, but can still glean some great tips about speaking in general.

They say never judge a book by it's cover. I judged it quickly by it's title, and by assuming the worst motives from it's author. That was a mistake on my part. Regardless of what I think of the title, or the email marketing approach, the content of the book, the creation of content from the author, earns it a high rating - 4 out 5 stars.

Pick it up. Jeremy writes...& delivers.

Speaking of Take the Stairs - A Book Review

A couple of weeks ago my friend Rory Vaden sent me a review copy of his latest book, Take the Stairs: 7 Steps to Achieving True Success (amazon affiliate link). I haven't read his prior offerings, but I've heard him onstage, in both Toastmasters and professional settings, and followed his career with interest. He's an amazing young man, though growing a bit long in the tooth by now - I think he's actually 30 - and has worked harder to get where he's gotten than most people I know. The only question I had left was about to be answered: could he translate his speaking, his philosophies, his life, into a book worth reading?

He keeps the book simple in structure - 7 Steps, 7 chapters: Sacrifice, Commitment, Focus, Integrity, Schedule, Faith, and Action. At just under 300 pages, it's still a fast read (I read it in about 5 semi-interrupted hours - but I knew some of the stories he tells, so your mileage may vary). The layout is easy to look at, with large quotes from the copy every other page or so embedded into the page itself (no wasted pages, but plenty of white space), and each chapter contains a real-life case study from a professional using the chapters concept in their life and business, concluding with links to online content, both a helpful and smart marketing strategy.

Rory's basic premise is that the world is more prone to take the escalator than the stairs. Who can argue? I hate the stairs, myself, though I have better reasons than many. His book delves into each of his concepts from a point of view of someone who believes success is an action, not just an attitude. He includes stories from his childhood (which isn't as rosy as his cover photo might indicate), his college years as a door to door children's books salesman, his journey to the World Championship of Public Speaking, and his eventual success as co-founder of Southwestern Consulting.

He never sounds too self-congratulatory, despite his long list of successes. He gives credit where credit is due, and uses the lessons he's learned to inspire and instruct the reader, as opposed to building himself up. He lets us in on both his emotions and his motions as he's experienced life - making his struggles feel real and his successes seem realistic and achievable by anyone willing to "do what we don't feel like doing".

In his Preface - "Waking up in a ProcrastiNation", Rory lays the groundwork for the rest of the book - helping us find our pain and frustration with life, and offering the promise of solutions in the forthcoming pages. His concepts are not new, but he acknowledges this from the start. If you've read Zig Ziglar (who Rory counts as a mentor), this book will feel familiar, but always through his own lens of living.

Rory updates time-honored concepts for the 21st century, showing us what can be done today, not 50 years ago when Zig was selling pots and pans. He walks us through success in today's world, overcoming a world that is entirely different from the days of Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, and even Tony Robbins. 2000 World Champion of Public Speaking Ed Tate suggested Rory might be the next Zig Ziglar - and this book seems to aspire to such greatness.

It's not a perfect book. There's a bit of repetition in the stories told, and occasionally his youth shows through in his choice of examples - "Nocturnal Emissions" as a section header is certainly a risque, and risky, proposition, though it stays within the realm of today's standards. Other than the case studies, the book uses his life as an example almost exclusively, which is a shame because he has a wide network of people whose stories would serve well in the book.

Despite its imperfections, some of which might be considered a bit nit-picky on my part, I can recommend this book both to people looking for inspiration and life tools, as well as to speakers who want an example of how to write a mainstream self-help tome. It's not as hard as it looked back in the old days, and Rory makes it look easy compared to the classics such as Ziglar's "See You at the Top".

Some may look at Rory and say he's too young to have these opinions, to tell us how to live life, and will take his thoughts as condescending - but those people need to take a closer look at the man behind the shiny image. He's walked the walk - and taken more steps to success than most people are willing to admit it takes. There's no 'Easy Button' in his approach, just good old fashioned discipline.

To answer my own question - Yes, Rory has created a book worth reading. The next question? What's next for this rising star?



Disclaimer: Rory and I competed together at the 2006 World Championship of Public Speaking in Washington DC, and briefly worked together in 2007 at his company Southwestern Consulting. He did not ask me to review this book.