Nick Morgan “Why is most public speaking so awful? Why do we subject our fellow human beings to this form of torture when there are so many better things we could all be doing, like cutting our toenails, baking snickerdoodles, or watching re-runs of The Prisoner?

You’re in a ballroom with no windows in some random airport hotel. The lighting is dim. The whir of the heating system fills your ears with white noise. The colors around you are shades of grey and beige with puce trimmings. You’re only awake because you’ve had 1300 cups of coffee from the urn in the hallway. Let the speaking games begin.

It’s a diabolical sensory deprivation experiment.

Why is most public speaking so awful? Beyond soulless venues and Death by Power Point, speakers make the same four mistakes over and over again, continuing the sorry state of the art.”

About the author:
Nick Morgan is the author of Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma and founder of Public Words Inc. He is one of America’s top communication and speech coaches. He is a former Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, affiliated with the Center for Public Leadership, and served as editor of the Harvard Management Communication Letter. He is also the author of the acclaimed book Working the Room, reprinted in paperback as Give Your Speech, Change the World.