Shut Up and Speak!: Essential Guidelines for Public Speaking in School, Work, and Life

Why does your mouth suddenly go dry, your throat tighten, your face get hot, and your knees buckle when you have to address a group of people? The old story goes that more people are afraid of public speaking than they are of death. Think about that for a moment. That means that many people at a funeral would prefer to be the person lying in the casket rather than the person standing up to deliver the eulogy. “Shut up and speak” means that you must stop churning up stomach acid when thinking about how difficult or frightening public speaking can be. “Shut up and speak” means that you can't become a better public speaker simply by studying communications theory or relying on public speaking folk wisdom. This book gives you the guidance to “shut up” by tuning out all of the static that doesn't help you become a better public speaker and to “speak” by throwing yourself whole-heartedly into speech-making.