Book Review: Real Leaders Don’t Do PowerPoint

I saw a review of Real Leaders Don’t Do PowerPoint: How to Sell Yourself and Your Ideas by Christopher Witt in Fortune Small Business Magazine, and as they say, I had to have it. I’ve been slowly (very slowly) trying to get into public speaking, so I thought this was the book for me.

It was really good; chock full of useful tips in easy-to-understand chunks. Witt uses examples from political leaders’ speeches as well as CEOs of corporations. Here are my takeaways on how to be a better speaker.

• Use storytelling to engage your audience
• Don’t rely on your PowerPoint. Use it as a launch pad to talk about more.
• Keep it short and simple.
• Don’t use fancy language.
• Speak to your audience.
• Research your audience.
• Practice, practice, practice!

I feel more able to take on my next speech (in English) after reading the book. Looking back, I realize several of the things I did wrong when I’ve spoken in the past!