Boring to Bravo: Proven Presentation Techniques to Engage, Involve, and Inspire Your Audience to Action

This book shows experienced presenters how to transform boring monologues into scintillating dialogues by employing simple yet powerful presentation techniques. It features 90-plus practical techniques for engaging and interacting with an audience. Drawing from her extensive experience as a nationally recognised speaker, the author gives readers tips that apply to any presenter. Readers will be amazed at their ability to attract, involve, and inspire by incorporating just a few of the author's suggestions. It offers a proven methodology for upgrading any presentation. By taking a collaborative approach to the communication process, the author shows the reader how to care, connect, and converse with the members of any audience. Incoming NSA president with strong promotional platform: as the incoming president of the National Speakers Association, the author will promote the book on a nation-wide tour. An experienced team facilitator and military veteran, the author has a large platform of clients, including the Coast Guard, NASA, and the IRS.

''To say that this book is packed with powerful ideas is an understatement. Whether you re a neophyte or professional communicator, Boring to Bravo will help you get better. I highly recommend it.'' --Mark Sanborn, President, Sanborn & Associates, Inc., Author, The Fred Factor, You Don't Need a Title to be a Leader, and The Encore Effect

''The author's qualifications are important for a book on public speaking (where authorial experience in practicing what is being preached is crucial). Arnold's background as a facilitator and speaker is extensive, capped by her new role as the incoming president of the National Speakers Association. Her focus is on presentations in the workplace, but the fluidly presented and dynamically toned pages soon make it obvious that her techniques and methods can be used by all who are required to give presentations, whether it be in their public or private lives. Her ideas are underscored by the basic premise that a dull, sleep-inducing program is intolerable, not to say detrimental, to the effectiveness of the presentation. How to engage your audience is the key to speaker success, and the author presents a series of increasingly sophisticated techniques to involve the audience, from employing the right tone of voice to breaking the audience out into smaller discussion groups. Hers are not pat responses to the issue of good programming but are well-thought-out, robustly tested, and greatly practical techniques.'' --Brad Hooper, Booklist magazine

Top Ten Low Risk Techniques to Easily Engage Your Audiences
Amazon-exclusive content from author Kristin Arnold

1. Arrange the room to be more friendly and engaging even before your presentation starts.
2. Prepare an interesting and appealing handout or takeaway that enhances your speech.
3. Mingle with the audience before your presentation so you ll have some new friends out there!
4. Before you begin to speak, establish rapport by making eye contact with as many people as you can.
5. Smile. They ll smile back!
6. Use lists, headlines or highlights to help the audience know where you are going and so that they can follow along.
7. Ask an engaging questions.
8. Tell a story with vivid words that capture their imaginations.
9. Have fun. When your audience sees that you are having a good time, they will too!
10. Finish with a strong, compelling call to action