As We Speak: How to Make Your Point and Have It Stick

The world is full of brilliant people whose ideas are never heard. This book is designed to make sure that youre not one of them.

Even for the most self-confident among us, public speaking can be a nerve-racking ordeal. Whether we are speaking to a large audience, within a group, or in a one-on-one conversation, the way in which we communicate ideas, as much as the ideas themselves, can determine success or failure. In this invaluable guide by two of todays most sought-after communication experts, Peter Meyers and Shann Nix offer a comprehensive approach for tackling the underlying obstacles that almost all of us experience when faced with speaking in public. In As We Speak, youll learn to master the three building blocks at the core of their approach:

Content: Organize the information you want to convey and construct a clear and lucid architecture of ideas that will lead your listener through a memorable emotional experience.

Delivery: Use your body, voice, eyes, and hands in ways that engage your audience and naturally support your message.

State: Bring yourself into peak performance condition. Your state is the way you feel when you perform, and it is both the most powerful and most frequently overlooked component of communication.

Meyers and Nix show how to apply these principles in a wide variety of situations. Youll learn how to handle difficult face-to-face conversations with colleagues, friends, and family; how to make the best use of e-mail, phone, video conference, and other technology; and how to communicate in a crisis, when all eyes are on you and emotions are running high. Meyers and Nix also emphasize that effective communication is impossible without first becoming aware of your own true goals and personal beliefs, and they offer helpful tools and exercises that will lead you to greater clarity and self-knowledge.

Accessible, inspiring, and laden with useful tips, As We Speak will help you discover your authentic voice and learn to convey your ideas in the most powerful and memorable way possible.

Two of the world’s most sought-after consultants present a revolutionary, empowering guide to public speaking and becoming a more effective, persuasive communicator in all areas of life.

Even for the most accomplished, public speaking can be a nerve-racking ordeal. Whether it’s speaking to a large audience, within a group, or in a one-on-one conversation, the way in which we communicate ideas, as much as the ideas themselves, can determine success or failure.

With a client roster that includes NestlÉ, Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard, ING, and PG&E, Peter Meyers—a former actor and theater director and the founder of Stand & Deliver consulting group—and former radio host Shann Nix have honed a comprehensive approach for tackling the underlying obstacles that almost everyone experiences when faced with speaking in public. At the core of As We Speak lies a simple, three-step approach that addresses content, delivery, and state of mind. Meyers and Nix take readers through every aspect of high-performance communication, from using your hands, eyes, voice, and body effectively to creating a clear structure of ideas that gives listeners a memorable experience. They also reveal how their principles can be used to improve communication with family and friends, even when it comes to important or awkward conversations. Forthright, supportive, and laden with extras—from tips to communicating by email to downloadable audio exercises— As We Speak will help readers find their voice, and make it heard.

A practical and empowering guide to public speaking and becoming a more effective communicator in all areas of your life.

Peter Meyers is the founder of Stand & Deliver Consulting Group, which trains Fortune 500 leaders and their teams worldwide to achieve optimal levels of performance. He is an award-winning actor who trained with the late Stella Adler and Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse.  In addition to his work as a performer, Peter has directed over 100 stage productions including three world premieres.  He is the founder and former Artistic Director of the award-winning Vector Theater Company in California.  Peter currently teaches performance and leadership skills at Stanford University, Esalen Institute, and IMD-International Institute for Management Development, Lausanne Switzerland.

Shann Nix is an award-winning journalist, novelist, playwright and radio talk show host. She became the youngest female newstalk host in the U.S., and for ten years hosted her own radio show on KGO , the number one station in the San Francisco Bay Area with over one million listeners. As a journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle, Shann was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and went undercover posing as a high school senior for a front-page series on education, which was later turned into the movie Never Been Kissed, starring Drew Barrymore. She is the author of one novel, Wildcatting, (Doubleday).