There is a lot of information out there on public speaking so I wasn’t initially sure about getting the e-book: Instant Speaking Success
But then looking at the sales page of author Paul Evans’ website, he does raise some useful points under the warning section. He says:
“DO NOT Buy Any Book or Course on Public Speaking Unless it Meets the Following Criteria…
ONE: It is written by a true professional speaker. Too many courses and books are from theorists who write about speaking, but don’t actually speak. You want a practitioner who speaks to thousands each year on subjects more than just public speaking. I am STILL speaking to thousands each and every year.
TWO: Shows you step by step how to develop, design, and deliver YOUR message. Don’t be conned by someone who wants to “sell you a fish,” without teaching you how to catch them for yourself.
THREE: Explains why certain speaking techniques work, not just that they work. Knowing why helps you understand the reason behind a practice. Without “why” you’ll never reach your full speaking potential.
FOUR: You can actually talk with the author or developer. Unreachable people have no accountability for their product”.
Now in terms of whether he is actually someone who gets paid to do public speaking you have to take him at his word. That’s the difficulty with the internet these days, you can’t always get your hands on physical evidence.
But after reading the information packed guide, I would have to say that I sure do! But don’t take my word for it check out his public speaking blog: Paul Evans’ Blog
He delivers exactly what he says he’s going to deliver:
a step-by-step process to creating a great speech!
I initally only read the first few chapters when I began to implement his advice (I have since read it all). So how did I know that, although the first few chapters were great, the rest were not lousy?
Because one of the bonus books is called “Fast Talker”. This is essentially a condensed version of the main book and takes you through a sep-by-step process of creating a speech in an hour!!
Obviously creating a speech in this way is not ideal. You should spend as much time research writing, rehearsing and re-writing your speech or presentation as much as you can.
But I have to confess…
I’ve been in a situation a couple of times, where I’ve needed to pull a speech out the bag in an hour. I’m not proud of it, but I have.
Yes, I did end up referring to notes on 3×5 cards, but considering it was for one of my local Toastmasters public speaking clubs it didn’t really matter too much. (You can do this for the first couple of speeches, later on you’re expected to memorise what you’re doing). After all, that is a place where you can learn and experiment.
So I figured if the information contained in the “Fast Talker” e-book was anything to go by, then the main Instant Speaking Success e-book was going to be pretty damned good by the time I’d finished with it.
And I was right.
Not only that, but I’ve since exchanged a couple of emails with Paul Evans himself and he seems like a nice guy and certainly accountable for his products. So I decided to send him a testmonial by way of thanks.
Now, I’ve spent a lot of time temping in various offices over the last few years and at the time I didn’t realise that…
…I was subconsciously training myself up to be comfortable in the public and private sectors so I can, in fact, go in as a professional speaker to organisations similar to the ones I’ve worked for and have a basic idea of how they operate.
And from my observations, one of which I spoke about in an earlier post, if the speakers who I have seen are anything to go by then Instant Speaking Success should be mandatory to every organisation. I say that, because there seems to be scant attention paid to any form of public speaking training. This situation could be different in other countries, but it doens’t seem to be the case in many U.K. companies.
The only downside for me is seeing how to apply these techniques if I had to deliver a Best Man’s speech or a similar public speaking scenario. It’s a bit difficult for me to adapt the information or know what is specifically required in that particular circumstance, without me buying another book to deal with that particular issue.
However, there is still a tonne of valuable public speaking information in this guide and well worth your investment.
By now, as you read this, I hope to have given you a pretty good impression of what I think of this product. For my money it should be required reading. It’s certainly helped my public speaking skills. And Paul’s book is one I refer to again and again.
For further information on public speaking and Paul Evan’s system check out: Instant Speaking Success
