Confessions of a Public Speaker Quotes

“We develop ulcers, high blood pressure, headaches, and other physical problems in part because our stress systems aren’t designed to handle the “dangers” of our brave new world: computer crashes, micromanaging bosses, 12-way conference calls, and long commutes in rush-hour traffic.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“It’s the mistakes you make before you even say a word that matter more. These include the mistakes of not having an interesting opinion, of not thinking clearly about your points, and of not planning ways to make those points relevant to your audience. Those are the ones that make the difference. If you can figure out how to get those right, not much else will matter.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“the average person isn’t that smart — and worse, half the population is dumber than that average person.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“Expressing ideas is often the only way to fully understand what ideas are, and to know what it is you really think.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“Silence between teachers’ remarks is a very important part of a lecture. Silence provides time for consolidation and thought.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“If you want to learn the secrets of any performer, see his show twice. Then you’ll notice how much of what seems improvised truly is.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“have to embody what I want the audience to be. If I want them to have fun, I have to have fun.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“While it’s fun to be near someone interesting for occasional chats, being stuck next to a person who will not stop talking for nine hours is my idea of hell.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“the podium is what you stand on. The lectern is what you stand behind.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“I believe anyone can teach anyone anything. But I mean this in a specific sense. If you have two dedicated, reasonably intelligent people, one interested in teaching and the other wanting to learn, something great can happen. Think master and apprentice, mentor and protégé. For learning, small numbers win. The success of this one-on-one method is proven throughout history; many so-called prodigies were tutored by a parent or family friend (Einstein, Picasso, and Mozart all qualify). Yes, they had amazing, inherent talent, but they were still privately taught by people invested in their learning. Teaching is intimacy of the mind, and you can’t achieve that if you must work in large numbers.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“In hundreds of lectures around the world, I’ve done most of the scary, tragic, embarrassing things that terrify people. I’ve been heckled by drunken crowds in a Boston bar. I’ve lectured to empty seats, and a bored janitor, in New York City. I’ve had a laptop crash in a Moscow auditorium; a microphone die at a keynote speech in San Jose; and I’ve watched helplessly as the Parisian executives who hired me fell asleep in the conference room while I was speaking. The secret to coping with these events is to realize everyone forgets about them after they happen — except for one person: me. No one else really cares that much.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“The best teachers use entertainment as a way to fuel teaching, not simply to make their students laugh.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“we are always performing. Any time you open your mouth and expect someone to listen, you are behaving differently than you would if you were alone. Admitting this doesn’t make you a phony — it makes you honest. We are social creatures and behave differently to fit into different social situations.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“Most people listening to presentations around the world right now are hoping their speakers will end soon. That’s all they want.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“As superficial as public speaking can seem, history bears out that people with clear ideas and strong points are the ones we remember.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“If you’d like to be good at something, the first thing to go out the window is the notion of perfection.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“Writers aren’t the most well-adjusted people, and it’s telling that our preferred means of interaction with civilization is throwing paragraph-shaped grenades at people from behind the safety of a laptop.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker

“Dacă ești prea leneș ca să repeți, atunci și publicul va fi prea leneș ca să te urmărească.”
― Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker