Creative Public Speaking

If you are looking for an interesting and thoughtful blog on a variety of topics, be sure to take a look at Presentation Zen, by Garr Reynolds. While his main topic is professional presentation design, Reynolds manages to weave in information and discussion about a host of important and current issues, such as his empathic piece on speaking anxiety and film director Michael Bay’s recent experience:

“[M]ost people could empathize, or at least sympathize with the man. It does not matter if you are rich and famous or a complete unknown, everyone has their own fears to deal with. The only reason I bring up the Michael Bay presentation is because I hope the incident will remind people that (1) presentation is not easy, (2) fears or anxieties regarding public speaking are normal and affect almost everyone, and (3) it’s better to prepare well and speak from the heart rather than to read a script off a teleprompter.” Read More

I also recommend Reynolds’s talk to the folks at Google. It is long but worth your time and applicable to far more than just professional presentations.