Preface

The following is a true story. It was a crummy Thursday morning in the spring of 1986. I was driving home from an early morning business meeting in Portland, Oregon. It was a typical spring day in Oregon—lots of rain, with an occasional sun break. I was feeling just as crummy as the weather. How was a trainer stuck in a tiny corner of the United States ever going to make it “big time”? After about eight miles of feeling sorry for myself, a rainbow appeared. Holy cow! In fact, I was at the end of the rainbow. The rainbow was right over my car, and a piece of the rainbow was outside the passenger window. If someone had been sitting in the passenger’s seat, he or she could have stuck an arm out of the window and touched the rainbow. I couldn’t help but think, “Yes! The pot of gold must be coming!” For the next few minutes I felt as though I were in a fantasy land. The rainbow continued to hover around my car. I knew that something special was going to happen that day.

And it did. Fifty miles later, as I turned off at my exit, the gold started to shine. It was on the north side of the road—an old hotel, so classy and majestic that I imagined people coming from all over the world to train with me there. I would become so famous that people would be willing to fly to this tiny corner of the United States. That evening I read an article about a trainer in the South who was training businesspeople in presentation skills. That was exactly what I wanted to do! I already had a similar program that I presented once each year to our regional phone company. That was my favorite workshop. Why not expand it and market it nationwide to the top corporations in the country? Gold! I found it!

I called it the Speakers Training Camp, and for the last ten years I have presented it worldwide to companies large and small. I still offer one session here in the Northwest each year, but I have extended my workshop sites all around the country. I call it a camp because it’s fun, it’s practical, and, just as at a sports camp, the more “at bats” you have, the better you become. For years, my clients have been begging me to put the ideas taught in the camp into a book. You are about to read the results of those labors. If you are interested in finding out about the Speakers Training Camp, feel free to write to me c/o the publisher, AMACOM, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019-7606.

This book is designed to help you become an extraordinary presenter—in the top 5 percent. I want to teach you the skills that will help you to become your own best coach for long-term improvement, and to have fun giving presentations.

I wanted to bring you the best information possible, so I decided to ask audiences some questions about what they like and don’t like about presenters. Their responses formed the basis of this book. Now you’ll know, from the people who really count: your audience—the people signing the contracts, buying the products, and closing the deals. What they say is very clear. Boring speakers don’t go to heaven: they don’t win applause, make the sales, or win the contracts.

I hope you enjoy the book. I hope you take some risks and try some new ideas. I found the pot of gold, but it’s more fun to spread it around to people like you!

Sue Gaulke