"The Everything Public Speaking Book" Designed to Help Everyday Speaking Situations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) June 22, 2008 -- LOS ANGELES – June 23, 2008 – Scott S. Smith, a prolific author of business articles for major magazines and newspapers, points out in his new guide, The Everything Public Speaking Book, that there is no reason for anyone to fear having to make a presentation to an audience. The book is being officially launched July 1 by Adams Media.

“I know a lot of people just hate speaking in public, it makes them terribly nervous, but it’s actually pretty easy to overcome the jitters and learn to become a terrific speaker,” he says. “It’s like driving a car—it may seem scary at first, but after you do it a few times, you barely think about the mechanics because your subconscious takes over.” In the book, Smith offers lots of ways to tamp down nervousness, from practicing the presentation as many times as possible to deep breathing exercises.

A key difference between his book and others on the subject, he says, is that it is to the point: too many volumes are exhaustive and exhausting, just too much information so that the important information gets lost, he asserts. “Business executives, who are often called on to talk impromptu at meetings or give speeches at conferences, simply don’t have the time to master hundreds of new ideas for improving their presentation skills,” Smith reports. “Amazingly, though, many of them have never watched a video of one of their speeches or thought carefully about how they could improve their effective communication, like slowing down a bit or using less jargon.”
Everyone has to speak in public, Smith points out—this isn’t just a subject for professionals at the podium. You might need to give the eulogy at a funeral, sell something to a customer, criticize a proposal at a PTA meeting, teach a Sunday School lesson to teenagers, or roast a colleague who is retiring. Improving the ability to talk in public has infinite uses, he says.

The author has given over 3000 presentations of all kinds and his nearly 1000 articles have appeared in publications such as Investor’s Business Daily, Los Angeles Magazine, and Continental. His last book was far from his business specialty: The Soul of Your Pet: Evidence for the Survival of Animals After Death, first published in 1998 and still selling, thanks to the proliferation of pet web sites. Smith has had a diverse career, including selling classical music subscriptions, managing a congressional campaign, publishing magazine for dentists, and being a marketing executive for a vitamin company—all of which required oral presentation skills. To receive sample questions and schedule an interview: 310/254-4051 from 6 a.m. Pacific or sssmith2@roadrunner.com (his web site focuses on business: http://home.roadrunner.com/~sssmith2).
For review copies: Adams Media 800-872-5627 or Publicity Dept. Beth.Gissinger@adamsmedia.com.

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