INTRODUCTION

Speak to Win

Our destiny changes with our thoughts; we shall become what we wish to
become, do what we wish to do, when our habitual thoughts correspond with
our desires. ORISON SWETT MARDEN

Increase Your Self-Esteem Becoming an excellent public speaker will help you
in every part of your career. But there is an even more important reason to learn
to speak well to an audience. Psychologists tell us that your level of self-esteem,
or ‘‘how much you like yourself,’’ largely determines the quality of your inner
and outer life. The better and more persuasively you speak, the more you like
yourself. The more you like yourself, the more optimistic and confident you are.
The more you like yourself, the more positive and personable you are in your
relationships with others. The more you like yourself, the healthier, happier,
and more positive you become in everything you do.

Improve Your Self-Image When you learn to speak effectively, your self-image
improves as well. Your self-image is your ‘‘inner mirror.’’ It’s the way you see
yourself and think about yourself prior to and during any event. The more
positive your self-image, the more competent your performance. The very act of
visualizing yourself performing at your best prior to any event or activity will
improve your performance. We are all highly sensitive to the thoughts, feelings,
and especially the respect of others. Somerset Maugham wrote, ‘‘Everything we
do in life is to earn the respect of others, or at the very least, not to lose their
respect.’’ So when you speak well, your audience likes and respects you more.
As a result, you like and respect yourself more as well. When you get positive
feedback from others as the result of speaking well, your self-image improves.
You see yourself and think about yourself in a more positive way. You develop a
sense of personal power. You walk, talk, and act with greater confidence.

The Four Ds to Speaking Excellence To become an outstanding speaker, you

simply must have the four Ds.

1. Desire. First, you must have an intense, burning desire to speak well. If your
desire is strong enough and you want to achieve speaking mastery long enough,
nothing can stop you from reaching your goal. But desire is not enough.

2. Decision. You must make a decision this very day that you are going to make
every effort, overcome any obstacle, and do whatever it takes to become
excellent.

3. Discipline. You must have the discipline to plan, prepare, and deliver talks
and presentations, over and over again, until you achieve mastery. There are no
shortcuts to hard work in developing an essential skill.

4. Determination. Finally, you must have the determination to persist and

persevere in spite of any short-term setback, obstacle, or embarrassment you
may experience.

The Only Limit Is You, Our greatest enemies are always our own doubts and
fears. But there are no limits to what you can do, be, or have except for the limits
you place on yourself.