Trust Me
Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma
By: Nick Morgan
Published: December 2008
Format: Hardcover, 224pp
ISBN-13: 9780470404355
ISBN-10: 0470404353
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
"Every communication is two conversations: the verbal one - the content - and the nonverbal one - the body language", writes Founder of Public Words Inc., and leading communication and speech coach Nick Morgan, in his practical and inspirational book Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma. The author demonstrates, with power and simplicity, how having speech content and body language in alignment makes a person a more authentic,persuasive, and even a charismatic speaker.
Nick Morgan understands that while personal interactions have both a verbal and nonverbal component, the unspoken part of the conversation is the most important. The author also recognizes that the nonverbal body language takes place unconsciously. As a result, any attempts to fit body language and gestures to a speech or presentation, will be slightly out of alignment with the spoken content. That almost imperceptible delay, according to Nick Morgan, is just enough for the listening audience to sense that something is wrong with the speaker. The audience will then consider the speaker inauthentic and even dishonest. The author shows speakers how to make their body language in time with their spoken words through practice and his four step program.
Nick Morgan (photo left) presents a simple four step outline that will not only get the verbal and nonverbal portions of the presentation in harmony, but will enhance the response to the speaker. The four steps are:
1. Being Open
2. Being Connected
3. Being Passionate
4. Listening
The four steps address the two conversations, spoken and nonverbal, in two discrete parts. Being open and being connected address the critical importance of being authentic with the audience. The third and fourth steps, being passionate and listening, develop being charismatic in the eyes of the audience. The four steps join in creating harmony between the content and body language.
For me, the power of the book, is how Nick Morgan combines the theory of effective presentation, with practical steps for achieving authenticity and charisma, through understanding the dual conversational dynamic. The author points out that the four points are simple in concept, but require practice so they become second nature. The steps are both simple and complex, and Nick Morgan does the reader a great service by describing them as taking time to perfect.
While many other authors share principles that are similar, Nick Morgan applies his real world experience with his concepts, perfected at Harvard. The book contains specific lessons for aligning words with body language, but the author doesn't trick the reader into believing the skills are easy to perfect. That honest approach demonstrates Nick Morgan's own authenticity as a writer and charismatic speaker.
I highly recommend the must read, presentation transforming book Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma by Nick Morgan, to anyone seeking to enhance their presentation skills, by taking them to a much higher level of connection with the audience. This book will develop the speaker's own real authenticity, by following the four steps, resulting in more effective and charismatic presentations.
Read the essential speaker improvement book Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma, and get your own two conversations in perfect alignment. The result will be more effective speeches, a more engaged audience, and an enormous boost to your business and career.
