Book excerpt: A contrarian approach to the art of public speaking that has nevertheless been used by the world's greatest speakers going back to Cato. Regardless of how you perceive your abilities as a presenter, chances are you engage in the same counter-productive actions and beliefs as 95% of all public speakers today. Actions and beliefs you acquired long ago, and that have worked against you and your audiences ever since. But have you ever wondered how some speakers stand out from all the rest? The truth is, great speakers are not born, they're trained. Trained in a set of simple physical behaviors known in the speaking business as "The Skills." Doug Jefferys' firm, PublicSpeakingSkills.com, has been training professionals from all walks of life in The Skills for over 15 years, and is now making this career-changing knowledge available to you in this entertaining and engaging text format. The book is filled with links to videos of famous great speakers and original animations that bring the learning alive. In the back are appendices of transcripts of great speeches broken down, line by line, into the exact cadence of the speaker's original delivery. No self-hypnosis, no fuzzy neuro-reprogramming, no reliance on "positive thinking" exercises that fail at the worst time. The unique training process that takes you from a speaking zero to a speaking hero is available to anyone who chooses to learn the technique and run with it. Early praise for Killer Presentation Skills: "I'm a tough critic - especially when it comes to compet-itors - but Killer Presentation Skills is right on the mark. This is an excellent book for everyone who wants to take their presentation skills to the next level." - Karen Friedman Karen Friedman Enterprises Author of Shut Up and Say Something: Business Communication Strategies to Overcome Challenges and Influence Listeners "Most courtroom litigators make it all the way through college and law school without ever learning how to effectively speak to a group. I'm here to say that the client whose representation has not read this book has a fool for a lawyer!" -Suzanne Bender, ESQ. Noted Philadelphia area Attorney "In our business, presentations are all we do. And we have to do them right, because we're basically asking our prospects to trust us with their life savings. Over the years our firm has brought in numerous presentation "experts," but no method that we've ever seen comes close to Mr. Jefferys' program for creating an atmosphere of both comfort and complete trust for our audiences." -James Gallagher, CLTC Creative Financial Group "Whether you've been speaking for years or just starting out - you need to learn "The Skills." This book explains what you've been doing wrong and more importantly, how to change those behaviors for good. Your audiences will thank you." -Julie Terberg - Principal and Creative Director Terberg Design LLC "I speak to very large crowds - a thousand or more. I've had a pretty good reputation in my field for many years, but not so much as a great speaker. As Jefferys makes clear, speaking well is about acquiring certain behaviors, something anyone can do, and not about being born with a given talent. Now I'm known not for just for my expertise, but for my ability to grab and hold an audience. When I speak, people listen. I absolutely love what I do!" -Geoffrey Katzenberg, MD