Own the Room: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage, and Get Results

Are you a public speaker or a business professional that gives presentations, looking for a book to help you become a better speaker? Look no further than OWN THE ROOM: Business Presentations That Persuade, Engage & Get Results. Co-authored by David Booth, Deborah Shames and Peter Desberg, this is one of the best books I've found for speakers. The trio are the founders of Eloqui, a communication consulting firm.I was amazed at how many practical and applicable practices I found in this book. From giving a thirty-second elevator speech to a full-blown day-long training session, readers will find countless ways to improve their speaking skills. The eleven chapters cover just about every aspect of business presentations. The first four chapters; Intention, Roles, Premier and Finale, cover the construction of your speech. There are so many things covered here that are so often overlooked. For example, most business presentations seek to educate; however, as pointed out, educating causes people to think; persuading motivates them to act. These four chapters alone are worth much more than the price of this book, but we're just getting started.The next few chapters cover a variety of topics such as building a better narrative, overcoming stage fright, making multiple person presentations and grammar usage. Then we get to what I believe is the best chapter in the book; The Power Point Revival. We've all sat through, and have probably been guilty of giving, less than stellar power point presentations. This chapter gives the reader countless ways to improve power point presentations.Imagine giving your next power point presentation without the use of a continuous flow of bullet points, but rather with an array of eye catching photos that work in harmony with your speech and that keep the audience riveted to your presentation. I love the analogy used of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach where music is composed with two separate melodies played at the same time. Although each melody by itself is beautiful, they intertwine. They support and lift each other creating a whole far greater than the sum of its parts. At any moment in time the notes from the different melodies are in harmony with each other. Isn't that the way Power Point slides should be integrated into your speech? If you give Power Point presentations, don't give another one until you read chapter 9 of this book!Chapter 10 looks at being memorable and focuses on how the mind interprets things. Giving an extraordinary presentation is worthless if your audience doesn't remember what you've told them. By understanding memory process, you will understand better how to craft and deliver your speech so more information is easily retained. Chapter 11 wraps it all up into a nice, neat package.There are a lot of books available on becoming a better speaker. This one focuses specifically on the business speaker and is one of the best books I have seen on this topic. I highly recommend this to anyone who gives business presentations.

Remember in your childhood being asked to perform a musical instrument, or speak in front of a group of adults.What a strange, awkward experience, and how could you deliver without choking up?"Own the Room" brings you three high-quality mentors, a theater actor + director, a film producer + director, and a clinical psychologist.These three mentors guide you to bring out your magic and personalize each element of your presentation.Also, you learn to tailor your story for your audience and circumstances.You learn to speak from the heart, to deliver your compelling story, and engage your audience to the very last pause."Own the Room" is filled with practical actions to engage, compel, and be very meaningful to your audience.This book should be required reading to communicate successfully, effectively and economically.In addition, David and Deborah train people to present successfully under different circumstances.Their interactive classes bring "Own the Room" to life and they change your life for the better.

I'm a marketing consultant who often leads meetings, gives presentations, and tries to convince others to follow my recommnedations. I'm always open to learning new ways to be more effective and more comfortable in all sorts of business situations and so I've read my share of business/sales books and have attended many corporate training sessions. What's great about Own The Room is that it's not the typical business book "fluff" that has one idea and fills 300 pages giving examples of that idea. It offers chapter after chapter of smart, practical advice that I started using right away.I also liked that the authors don't prescribe a one-size-fits-all list of "must-do's" for speakers. Instead, they tell you how to be more effective using your own individual talents and strengths. That was far more comfortable for me and more useful to me in my day-to-day work.If you want to up your game in terms of effective communications, get this book.

I like this book. It's concise, easy to read and full of useful tips for business presentation; from your body language to the tone of your voice and to the use of PowerPoint slides.But most importantly, there I s a great advice consistently repeated in the book: you are the star, PowerPoint is your backup.Overall a good book to read.

As a professional speaker myself, I really didn't learn all that much but for someone who hasn't been there, done that, it's excellent. There's so much valuable information that all presenters can benefit from that I do recommend this book.

This book is good at reiterating almost everything you've ever heard about presentations. The first chapter is different, and provides a unique outtake on how to introduce yourself. However, the methods and suggestions they make clearly show the authors lack of a business professional background, as some of the introduction examples are so cheesy that I as a professional would completely disregard anything after the atrocious introduction. Be unique, don't rely on PowerPoint, don't be boring, and rely on practice and your knowledge as a professional. Done.

This book had me from hello! This is a must read if your just beginning or have been in sales for some time. The information is so well laid out and easy to follow. Once you start applying the techniques you are sure to see success. Don't take my word on it, read it and try it yourself.

I think I'm pretty good but I want to be better. I found a lot of things to make me think and improve my work.

Normally I expect books like this to spend at least one third of the book telling me how much I am going to learn and how my world will become a brighter and better place for reading it.This book avoids hyperbole and gets down to the meat of the discussion quickly structured with a logical progression throughout the book. Each chapter is clear and has a core message that is conveyed with good examples leading you to the realization that at some point you have used this before at some point.Overall, a well written and instructive book that has changed the way I think about presentations.

Really interesting

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