Book excerpt: Master the art of public speaking with a mind- and content-based approach to success How to Present to Absolutely Anyone is the ultimate guide to successful public speaking. Presentations, talks, and speeches are unavoidable in school, work, and even social occasions (have you ever had to deliver a wedding toast?)—but fear of public speaking is statistically more common than fear of death. Author Mark Rhodes once pretended he had crashed his car to avoid doing a presentation! Permanent avoidance will eventually hold you back, but mastering the art of the successful presentation can take you to new heights! This book shows you how Mark eventually learned to love public speaking: by setting himself up for a self-sustaining cycle of presentation success. It takes more than stage presence to make a great presentation—you need great content. Without it, you won’t get the result you’re after, and you will dread the next talk. But if your presentation stands on its own two feet and you manage to banish the stage fright, you get a taste of success that ignites your passion and gets you excited to present every time! Packed with practical advice for both mental anguish and content creation, this book approaches public speaking holistically to arm you with real skills for success: Build confidence, reduce fear, and develop the right mindset for public speaking Engage your audience from the start, and reduce first-minute jitters Develop great content that you look forward to presenting each time Go beyond simple body language to reach your audience in a more authentic, organic way Don’t mumble your way through a PowerPoint or try to put flash over substance. Craft an engaging, informative presentation that people want to see and that you want to present! This book covers performance anxiety, speaking skills, ideas/content, practice, preparation, and audience interaction. How to Present to Absolutely Anyone guides you from fear, to excitement, to success!