Zig Ziglar "Successful Persuasion Through Public Speaking"
Every facet of life involves persuasion. If you tell somebody why something should be
done, he or she is far more likely to feel good about doing it. This gets get both head and
heart involved, which produces better performance. I believe that's especially important
for speakers. Our goal as speakers is to persuade others to take action.
As you may know, I have a personal credo that says, "You can have everything in life
you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." That credo calls
upon me to persuade others to pursue what they want. I've done so through my public
speaking career, as well as my writing career, and I've been blessed to get so much of
what I want from life every day of my life.
I believe public speaking is an important career, but it's also one in which the speaker
must remain humble. In a way, we are servants to those who invite us to speak to them,
and we can never forget the great responsibility that comes with every invitation.
My career as a speaker has taken me to all parts of the world and has placed me in front
of audiences of all sizes. During my career, I've learned quite a bit about what to do and
what not to do, and perhaps some of what I've learned will be helpful to you. That's why I
agreed to an invitation to be interviewed on this topic by my friend and associate, Dr.
John Hayes, who edits the Zig Ziglar Newsletter. Through the newsletter, we frequently
receive letters from readers who want to know more about how to become a public
speaker, or how to develop a career as a speaker. It's a huge topic of interest and I hope
the information we have provided in this eBook will be of value to you and many others.
The good persuader is definitely action-oriented. When Cicero spoke, the people stood
and cheered. When Demosthenes spoke, the people stood and marched. The ultimate
objective in persuasion is to get the listener to stand and march—to take action.
I know you are action oriented because you possess this eBook. Read, study and apply
the techniques and principles in this book and I will see you at the top!
Zig Ziglar
June, 2004
