The Art of Public Speaking Book Summary

Book Summary

15 min

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Brief Summary

The art of public speaking begins with leaping out of your comfort zone and into practice. You cannot master the craft without practicing successful speeches that contain emotion, storytelling, and cold-hard facts.

About the Author

At one point in his salesman career, Dale Carnegie earned up to $500 weekly ($11,800 today). Yet, Carnegie walked away from sales in pursuit of a career in public speaking, becoming a renowned lecturer delivering talks to packed houses (including once at Carnegie Hall). The highlight of his career was the publication of his lecture content into what would become the bestseller How to Win Friends and Influence People. At the time of his death in 1955, this career-defining work had sold five million copies and was available in 31 languages.

Topics

Communication Skills Self Development

The Art of Public Speaking Book Summary Preview

Are you terrified of standing up in front of people and delivering a speech?

Do your palms sweat and you begin to stutter on your words?

What would you give to make that business presentation just a little bit easier on your nerves?

In, “The Art of Public Speaking” by Dale Carnegie, you’ll learn that in order to become a total master at speaking in front of a crowd, all you need is some good ‘ol practice.

Doing something you’re completely uncomfortable doing is a challenge for anyone. But, with Carenegie’s help you will begin to understand that leaping right in is the most effective way to conquer your fear.

Let’s get talking...about public speaking!

Key Insights

Practice, Practice, Practice

Just like anything else in life, practice makes perfect...well, at least, better! For example, when you first learned to ride a bike it probably took many hours to be able to zoom down hills with confidence. Public speaking acts just the same! Once you continually do it, you will feel much more confident in your ability.

To leap into practice, you must learn to overcome you fear by facing it head-on. According to Carnegie, here are three ways to do that:

Get rid of your feelings of self-consciousness and focus on your task at-hand.

Be fully prepared. Know exactly what you are about to talk about and be knowledgeable on the subject.

Expect success. Don’t go into a speech feeling like you are going to fail. If you do, you will!

“If you believe you will fail, there is no hope for you. You will.”- Dale Carnegie

Use Your Voice As A Tool

Successful speeches all have one thing in common, they are not dull. But, how do you make a speech interesting? It’s all about your voice and the way you deliver it.

“The baseball pitcher, the bowler in cricket, the tennis server, all know the value of change of pace—change of tempo—in delivering their ball, and so must the public speaker observe its power.”- Dale Carnegie

Try emphasizing certain words and phrases. Do not keep your tone the same throughout. Seriously, think of your voice like a roller coaster going up and down. If you create an interesting stream of tonation for your audience to enjoy, you will immediately gain their admiration. They’ll want to listen to what you have to say!

Play with speaking loudly versus whispering. When done correctly, this will help the audience to understand the key points of your speech.

It’s All About Emotion

The most powerful speakers always weave emotion into their presentations. That’s because, as humans, we feed off emotions. We are not going to give money to a charity unless it provides some emotional response within us such as helping save sick children.

“A watch manufacturer in New York tried out two series of watch advertisements; one argued the superior construction, workmanship, durability, and guarantee offered with the watch; the other was headed, "A Watch to be Proud of," and dwelt upon the pleasure and pride of ownership. The latter series sold twice as many as the former. A salesman for a...