From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide

by Thomas B. Dowd III

This practical guide will share concise methods to overcome anxiety, relate to any audience, develop an effective presentation, make your message count, and stir emotion. The tips and techniques are bite-sized nuggets that will resonate with speakers of all levels—from those wanting to survive a speech to professionals needing reinforcement to hone their craft. Building off the fundamentals of public speaking and presentation skills, this guide offers a practicality that will stand the test of time. Readers will see that effective public speaking has more to do with confidence than communication skills. Public speaking is everywhere, not just at a podium, and successful public speaking skills can be developed with easy-to-follow steps. Readers will find that their own success, both personal and professional, is directly related to their ability to communicate effectively. Using personal examples of his triumphs and lessons learned, Tom shares his journey to get past the emotion of fear that has gripped everyone at some time in their lives when they stared into a crowd. The techniques included will build the confidence to not just survive one moment, but teach you to play to your own strengths and enjoy a lifetime of effective communication, strong leadership, and lasting personal relationships. Most people already have the groundwork to be a great public speaker. "From Fear to Success" maneuvers past your trepidations into a new world of self-assurance to build upon this foundation.

212 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2012

About the author

With over 20 years of experience in the financial industry in management and leadership roles, Tom runs his own business Thomas Dowd Professional Development & Coaching as a speaker, author, trainer, and coach. Tom developed a series of management presentations into a speaking program called "Powerful Professional Transformation: Unleashing Leadership." The speaking engagements turned into "The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World", a book detailing Tom's own professional growth based on lessons learned in his career. "Transformation" (honorable mention in business 2012 New England Book Festival). Tom has since written his second book "From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide" (Gold Medal 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards, Honorable Mention 2013 Paris Book Festival & 2013 NY Book Festival). "Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job" was published in March 2014, "Time Management Manifesto" in October 2014, "The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood" in April 2015, and "Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success" in March 2016..

Starting in 2008, Tom was one of the founding members of Dirigo Toastmasters in Belfast Maine and spent his first four years as the Vice President Education. He is currently a member of Kennebec Valley Toastmasters located in Augusta Maine. Tom holds advanced communication (ACG) and advanced leadership (ALB) certification, and has his High Performance Leadership (HPL) certification, with Toastmasters International. Tom was awarded the District 45 Outstanding Toastmaster for 2010-2011 representing over 100 clubs in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and the three eastern most provinces of Canada. Tom also exhibited consistent success when competing at the division and district level in the Humorous, International, Table Topics, and Evaluation contests. He is a two-time Table Topics Impromptu District 45 champion for 2012 and 2013., and 2015 Speech Evaluation Champion. Additionally, he is a member of the National Speakers Association.

Tom graduated from the University of Delaware in 1990 with a Communication degree, concentrating on interpersonal and organizational communication.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The crowning achievement of this book is how effectively the author weaves in the real life of an ordinary guy, a shy, introverted person, with the relatively major achievements and successful industry techniques that brought, and continue to bring him success. Having these straightforward steps that, when seen in this book, appear within reach to nearly anyone; knowing that these tools and this advice are essentially all you need to know to start building your own presentation skills and public persona, is a huge confidence booster.

What separates this book from other similar books I've read is the down to earth stories the author tells about his journey; how relatable it is to regular people. We don't see him as some grand politician or public figure, rather as a regular guy. The reader can picture him living his normal life while also building amazing success on this journey. Disarming the reader with this approach makes it so much easier to imagine doing the same thing yourself, and effectively eliminates any excuses not to give it a shot. To be sure, as I continue my own journey to improve my public speaking skills and outward persona, I will be keeping this book close by.

[Fer1805 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

It is full of tip, recomendations and strategies to improve the skills of public speaking. I will surely read again.

[John R Cobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read few, if any, “self-improvement” type books, and I avoid Dr. Phil like his show was a bedbug-infested pillow. Until recently, my interpersonal communication skills were good enough to get by. However, after publishing my first book, I started receiving invitations to speak to audiences.

Fortunately, I was already familiar with Tom Dowd, and actually heard him speak about “public speaking”. Tom is an excellent orator, and he genuinely enjoys connecting with an audience.

So, we did a book exchange, and I walked away with his tome, “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide”. Anyhow, Tom’s book lingered on my nightstand until my latest book came out, and I received another round of speaking invites.

Thankfully, Tom’s book has been excellent resource. He presents his material in a personable and understandable manner, and he reiterates important points in a way that doesn’t seem repetitive. Tom gives much credit to those he has learned from.

I especially liked what he wrote about practicing your presentation. “I learned if I could do it well in front of my wife, then a couple hundred people would be easy.” From my perspective, that’s a very true statement.

“Reduce personal distractions” Meaning, shuck the cell phones, work badges, and swinging jewelry. Seems like an overly simple bit of advice, but I’ve observed a couple of lecturers interrupted by their own ringing cell phones, and there’s a TV news anchor in my area, who has a penchant for gaudy necklaces. My wife and I spend appreciable time commenting on her bling instead of listening to the breaking news.

I highly recommend this book to those looking to improve their public speaking skills.

[Thomas III · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the author of this book, it is recommended for speakers of all levels. In researching public speaking for Toastmasters speech competitions, I found an array of books that were scholastic or technical in nature by trying to understand what was going on inside your head or body. I wanted a simple guide to build people's confidence one chapter at a time. The book was written with easily digestible chapters (~one to three paragraphs each) that can be referenced based on the speaker's needs. The key messages go beyond a podium or microphone, and emphasize that communication skills can be taught and refined. Whether you are trying to close the sale, having a meaningful conversation with your spouse, or speaking to hundreds of people, public-speaking skills are a must. Much of our success personally and professionally can be directly correlated with our ability to effectively convey our thoughts, opinions, and messages. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
- Thomas B. Dowd III author of “The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a professional in the Corporate World” and “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide www.transformationtom.com

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not yet in my career met someone who has not had anxiety around speaking in public. The symptoms of anxiety: Shaking ,nervous stomach, sweaty palms, the "um's, the "Ah's" all goes with it and can often build up to a moment when most want to say, I can't do this! Tom has been there and now is giving you the tools to overcome your fears and become the best speaker you can be. By following his lead and applying the knowledge from his experience you will speaking with a lot less anxiety in no time. This book is a must read for anyone who want to improve their speaking skills and overcome the fear and anxiety that goes with it