The Truth about Confident Presenting

Praise for The Truth About Confident Presenting

"O'Rourke goes beyond the typical list of speaking tips and packs a lot of wisdom into his 51 truths. He explains the critical link between the content of a speech and its ultimate effectiveness, illuminating the powerful connection between preparation and performance. Speakers who follow his winning formula are sure to find a grateful audience."

R. Jeep Bryant, Executive Vice President, Chief Communications Officer, The Bank of New York Mellon

"From strategy to tactics, the 51 common-sense 'truths' in this book are useful, practical, and easy to adapt. Even reading just a few chapters will help to make you a better speaker. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to the executive speakers I work with."

Jan Botz, Executive Director, Chief Communications Officer, Dow Corning Corporation

“Whether you are speaking to a large audience, your boss, your employees, or your kids, you will feel more confident and prepared, and be far more effective, after reading this book. O’Rourke provides simple, doable tips that really make a difference. From caring to preparing, you’ll learn what it takes to engage your audience and make your message count!"

Patty Blackburn, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, RSM McGladrey, Inc.

“The Truth About Confident Presenting is an excellent, practical guide for anyone who aspires to deliver effective and engaging presentations. It is a valuable resource for the novice as well as veteran speakers.”

Catherine V. Babington, Vice President, Public Affairs, Abbott Laboratories

“Years of successful presentation experience condensed into an easily digestible but invaluable checklist for anyone wishing to channel natural anxiety over public speaking into improving their presentation skills. Filled with real-world examples and anecdotes, O’Rourke focuses on the essentials of great presenting.”

Tim Andree, Chief Executive Officer, Dentsu America

All you need to know to make winning presentations--fearlessly and painlessly

•        The truth about preparing quickly, efficiently, and well

•        The truth about managing anxiety and handling hostile audiences

•        The truth about nonverbal signals, PowerPoint, microphones, and more

This book reveals 51 proven and bite-size, easy-to-use presenting techniques that work.

This book brings together everything you need to know to prepare well, manage anxiety, deliver effectively, connect with your audience, and succeed! Authored by top business consultant James O’Rourke, this book offers real solutions for the obstacles and fears faced by every presenter. You'll discover what makes people listen, and what instantly turns them off. You’ll learn how to prepare effectively, not obsessively; how to scope out your audience and muster evidence that'll convince them; when and how to listen; how to manage anxiety and establish a great first impression; how to make nonverbal cues work for you; how to use PowerPoint well; how to handle hostile questions confidently; and much more.

This isn't someone's opinion: it's a definitive guide to effective presenting―a set of bedrock principles you can rely on to help you win with any audience.

James S. O’Rourke, IV teaches management and corporate communication at the University of Notre Dame, where he is a Concurrent Professor of Management and the Arthur F. and Mary J. O’Neil Director of the Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication. In a career spanning four decades, he has earned an international reputation in business and corporate communication. Business Week magazine has named him one of the “outstanding faculty” in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.

In 2004, he was named as recipient of the Fifth Annual John A. Kaneb Teaching Award in the Mendoza College of Business and was recognized during the University’s 159th Commencement exercises.

His publications include Management Communication: A Case Analysis Approach (3rd edition, Prentice-Hall, 2007), and Business Communication: A Framework for Success (Thomson Learning, 2001). Professor O’Rourke is senior editor of an eight-book series on Managerial Communication from Thomson Learning and is principal author or directing editor of more than 130 management and corporate communication case studies.

Professor O’Rourke is a graduate of Notre Dame with advanced degrees from Temple University, the University of New Mexico, and a doctorate in Communication from the S. I. Newhouse School of Syracuse University. He has held faculty appointments in such schools as the United States Air Force Academy, the Defense Information School, the United States Air War College, and the Communications Institute of Ireland. He was a Gannett Foundation Teaching Fellow at Indiana University in the 1980s, and a graduate student in language and history at Christ’s College, Cambridge University in England during the 1970s. He has delivered invited lectures at leading universities in Denmark, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Singapore.

Professor O’Rourke is a trustee of both The Arthur W. Page Society and the Institute for Public Relations. He is a member of the Reputation Institute and the Management Communication Association. He is also a regular consultant to Fortune 500 and mid-size businesses throughout North America. Dr. O’Rourke and his wife, Pam, have three daughters: Colleen (St. Mary’s College, 1994), Molly (Notre Dame, 2000), and Kathleen (Notre Dame, 2007).