reading list and recommendations

Some useful and interesting books, relevant to pitching. Or not.

Public speaking books, as a rule, I would avoid. I read them so you don’t have to. Most have some great tips, but they’re usually over-sold as unbreakable dogma or padded with pseudo-science..

Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull. Specifically chapter 5 “Honesty and Candour”, which describes the vital role the “Braintrust” plays in Pixar’s success. In a nutshell, it’s an informal group of senior creatives to whom anyone in the firm can bring work. They are obliged to be candid in their reaction to it, and the person submitting the work is obliged to receive their feedback on the work (not themselves). Highly pertinent to supporting colleagues doing something exposing like speaking in public. Particularly for polite folks like British publishers …

Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman. Because it’s ace, but specifically because it contains the glorious Harrison Ford quote, to George Lucas, on the set of Star Wars: “You can write this shit, George, but you sure can’t say it”. A reminder to write like you talk.

The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters. Like many popular psychology books, it’s a terrific example of charging £8.99 for a very skinny paperback, and I commend Ebury for that. For our purposes, it speaks about the value of feeling confident about doing your best, even if you’re not confident of the outcome [link]

The Perfect Pitch by Jon Steel. Entertaining and invaluable. Why?

1.     Great take-down of Powerpoint

2.     Exceptional distillation of clever pitching practice

3.     Dissection of the Paris v London Olympic pitches which is worth the price of admission alone, and then some.

How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking by Viv Groskop

… which should be read by men as well as women. Full of insight and really enjoyably written. Particularly strong on how quiet people can speak well and how even confident speakers can develop further.

Do Present by Mark Shayler is the latest in an outstanding series of books to derive from the Do Lectures and it shares their qualities of concision, clarity and (with apologies for the three 'c's) character. There's no padding and no crap science (massive relief: I couldn't have managed another "your brain is like a plumbing system/car engine/Greek temple" or whatever analogy). I don't agree with all of it - he takes a harder line on lectern use than I would - but countless good points are made with admirable pith and punch: "don't read from your phone - it looks shite". And he concentrates on the really important stuff about, confidence, purpose, audience and storytelling without getting too dogmatic about technique and methodology.

Finally, a recommendation: Talking Ape is a superb learning and development organisation run by my old friend James Marshall, which focusses on leadership, management and communication. Much of what I know about presenting I learned slash stole from him.