Favorite books from 2007

As the door on 2007 creaks shut, I reflect on what I did this year, and what I plan for 2008.

Here are some of my favorite books I read this year. I suggest that you consider them for your bookshelf to increase your Presentation Skills. Remember that presentations need to be entertaining and you are better able to entertain if you study humor.

1. The Comedy Bible by Judy Carter.
2. Stand up Comedy - The Book by Judy Carter
3. Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson. Cliff explains his revolutionary approach to presenting with PowerPoint.
4. Comedy Writing Secrets by Male Helitzer.
5. The Edge of Their Seats Storytelling Home Study course from Craig Valentine. Craig is the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking and THE master story teller.

You may also find value in rereading some classics from my bookshelf, and which should probably be on your bookshelf.
1. Success through a Positive Mental Attitude by W. Clement Stone.
2. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. (When we left South Africa in 2001, this was the only book I brought with me. We could only bring six suitcases with us to the USA, and I dumped my library in South Africa, save for this one book).

For the writer in you, I recommend:
1. Writing Non Fiction - Dan Poynter.
2. The Self - Publishing Manual - Dan Poynter.
3. Damn! - Why didn't I write that? By Marc McCutcheon.

What I do not recommend are books of quotes and jokes. I studied a few this year and I have found no value in these books. The reason is that the jokes are often filthy (which I won't retell on stage or off stage) and the quotes are not relevant to my message. Perhaps you are luckier than I have been. I find more value in studying how to create and convey humor than using someone else's humor.

Of course, you would be extremely wise to order a copy of my book - "Dodging the Bullet Points" as well :)

And for off topic, thought provoking reading, get a copy of Money Talks or Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss.

I hope you enjoy reading some of these books and get great value from them in 2008.

Craig Valentine, The Mindset of PowerPoint Champions

Readers this is so exciting. Today we have a special blog entry from Craig Valentine.

Craig Valentine is the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking and is one of my mentors. Craig is THE master storyteller and is sharing his years of study and practise with students through his Story Telling bootcamps. I attended this bootcamp with Craig, Patricia Fripp and Darren LaCroix. It was the best investment I have made.

Here is Craig's entry. (Craig, thank you for giving us insight to mindset of Champions)

***

"Hi Craig. This is Brent Joyner and I run a small business that is seeking funds from venture capitalists. We need help with our presentations to potential investors. Craig, we already have the presentation, we just need to know what we are going to say. Can you help?"

Now you might think this question is confusing because Brent stated that "he already has the presentation" but he does not know what they are going to say. However, I knew exactly what he was saying because I have heard if far too often. Basically what he meant was that they already have the slides laid out and now they need something to say in between them.

This is a classic mistake that ruins most business presentations. Brent started developing his presentation by creating slides. You should NEVER do this.Instead, start by creating your message and then determine whether or not you even need slides to say it! This is so important that it needs to be repeated.

Do NOT start by creating slides and then figuring out what to say DO start by creating your message and then figuring out if slides will help you say it.

Craig Valentine, MBA

1999 World Champion of Public Speaking

Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach

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Visit the Edge http://www.worldchampionsedge.com/craig

Be glad for bad tips

Our house is quiet today. It is over 90 degrees out, with "oppresive" humidy according to Channel 3 news. I haven't been out - been catching up on some rest and taking care of business paperwork that habitually piles up on my desk during the week. I am working on Sunday so I don't even feel guilty about taking some Wayne time :)

I found the article "18-tips for killer presentations". Being in the presentation business myself, I had to take a look. Reading through the article I saw that most tips are the same old, same old, posted in many articles for presenters. I was looking to see if Professor John Sweller was quoted but I guess that Dodging the Bullet Points is one of the few publications to reference Prof John's work.

I love articles that appear to offer valuable advice, but in reality, don't offer any advice. For example giving advice such as "Deliver entertaining speeches" seems very good advice on the surface.

Here's the kicker though. When you get on the stage how are you going to deliver that entertaining speech? Hello!! We seem to be missing the Nuts and Bolts of how to deliver the entertainment. In effect this apparent "advice" is nothing more than hot air.

Ditto for comments such as "tell stories to make your point". If you are not trained in the craft of telling business stories then how are you going to magically deliver entertaining, appropriate stories when presenting your sales strategy to your Board of Directors?

In contrast if you want to learn how to craft and tell stories then invest a little time and money to acquire storytelling skills. Improve your presentation skills from people who are making presentations, day after day. You can learn from my products listed on my website, as well as learn from my mentors - The World Champions of Public Speaking at http://www.waynebotha.com/Resources.htm.

If you want to learn the Nuts and Bolts of Public Speaking and how to tell stories, then I recommend you invest in Craig Valentines "Nuts and Bolts" products, available on my resources page. Get the training you need then you can deliver the results you want to deliver.

Why do I love articles that give out apparently valuable advice without providing the Nuts and Bolts to deliver the desired result? Because such articles increase the demand for professionals who have trained, practised and invested time to acquire the skills that allow us to "Deliver entertaining speeches with stories that make points".

What you do you think? When are you glad to see bad tips posted on the Internet?