Here are 22 books that The Referable Speaker fans have personally recommended if you like
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I am a goal-setting expert with a specialty in Event Outcome Optimization. Through speaking, workshops, and consulting, I help individuals and teams get the most value from the events they attend. Conferences are essential for professional development, whether in-person or virtual. And they can be more than just fun. When you set goals and approach them properly, conferences can be a bounty of new connections, education, and information!
Whenever you meet new people, you Google them, right? You check out their website and connect on LinkedIn. Guess what? They do the same for you.
Before you attend any event, make sure your digital presence is a positive reflection of who you are and how you help. 101 Ways to Rock LinkedIn is a comprehensive guide that helps you put your best digital foot forward.
Authors LinkedIn expert Viveka von Rosen and “Rock Star” entrepreneur Dayna Steele have made it easy to give your LinkedIn a likely overdue makeover that helps you stand out from the crowd.
The year 2020 forced us to pivot, to understand the importance of our business and our personal brand, and to learn how to create virtual business. Not only has business changed, so has the entire world. So many more of us are working from home and/or are creating new home-based businesses. That means it’s even more important to create a strong personal brand, so that you stand out from your competition.
“LinkedIn is perhaps the most powerful social media platform for business today. Viveka von Rosen (considered among the world’s foremost experts on this platform) and ‘Rock Star’ entrepreneur Dayna…
I’m obsessed with spreading the word about best practices when it comes to the accounts payable function. It’s a lot more complicated than you might imagine – if you want to avoid fraud, excess costs, duplicate payments, problems with the IRS, etc. I regularly speak at both online and live events. As the host of the AP Now YouTube channel, I’m able to share opinions, interview industry thought leaders, and share the latest business intelligence needed to run an efficient, cost-effective accounts payable and payment function. I’ve written over 20 business books, most of them focusing on various aspects of the accounts payable function.
In today’s business environment, having a LinkedIn profile is essential. But just slapping some basic information up there is no longer adequate.
If you want to compete for the very best positions, recognized by those looking to hire without posting, and simply put your best foot forward when it comes to marketing yourself and networking, then you need some expert help – which Bernstein provides by the truckload.
LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, hosts the profiles of nearly 800 million people in over 200 countries and 2.8 million locales -- and up to 47% of them are active users. LinkedIn reports 97 million monthly unique visitors worldwide, 57% of whom log on via mobile devices. In the U.S., 27% of adults (180+ million users) have LinkedIn profiles. Over 30 million companies have company pages on LinkedIn. Furthermore, according to LinkedIn, there are executives from every Fortune 500 company using this social network, and 95% of those companies use LinkedIn's licensed recruiting software to search for job candidates.
From the time I first learned to write, I knew this was something in my blood I had to pursue and that I’d one day make a comfortable living at it. Writing is a solitary craft to be sure, and although I worked in other industries for a number of years, I knew I’d eventually have to take a leap of faith and pursue this professionally. I’m passionate about encouraging fellow wordsmiths and dreamers, and the business books I’ve written reflect my expertise in Audience Analysis and Message Design, a specialization I’ve also tapped for my novels and stage plays.
Just like any new habit you want to incorporate into your lifestyle, it takes a conscientious effort to practice that habit every single day. Being your own boss is much, much harder than working for someone else (I know this from personal experience!) and Ms. Bolon provides the tools and tips one needs to successfully give structure to an otherwise wildly unstructured venture. Her tone is fun and conversational and makes one feel as if they have just come away from an energizing coffee date with an old friend.
As a solopreneur, you wanted to work for yourself so that you would have more freedom with your lifestyle, more fun with your family and more flexibility with your schedule. There's never been a better time to earn more money by starting a part-time solo venture. But being your own boss can be a challenge or feel scary if you’ve never been in charge of your own calendar before.
In The Thriving Solopreneur, Janine Bolon answers questions every solopreneur has had about creating a business and building a strong client base. It's a…
Although I have been a professional artist for over forty years, I have never yet gotten to the point where I imagine I have it all figured out. There are always new techniques to learn, and new mediums to explore. The books on this list are ones I have found helpful in nudging me in new and productive directions.
I owe Francis D.K. Ching big time. What I learned about perspective in art school served me well enough during my first few years as a working illustrator, but there came a time when I faced a perspective problem beyond my experience on deadline, and I needed to pick up new skills fast. I knew the neighbor in the next apartment over was a graphic designer, so I knocked on her door to ask if she had any books on perspective, and this is what she had on the shelf. The perspective section is only a small part of this elegantly drawn and hand-lettered book, but the information in it was enough to solve my immediate problem and set me to exploring perspective on my own (and some thirty years later, I found my neighbor again on LinkedIn and returned her copy).
The bestselling guide to architectural drawing, with new information, examples, and resources Architectural Graphics is the classic bestselling reference by one of the leading global authorities on architectural design drawing, Francis D.K. Ching. Now in its sixth edition, this essential guide offers a comprehensive introduction to using graphic tools and drafting conventions to translate architectural ideas into effective visual presentations, using hundreds of the author's distinctive drawings to illustrate the topic effectively. This updated edition includes new information on orthographic projection in relation to 3D models, and revised explanations of line weights, scale and dimensioning, and perspective drawing to clarify…
I love reading about strong main characters stuck in lousy situations that they have to pull up their big girl panties to get out of. I want a read where no one follows the rules, come what may. Wit and clever dialog are definitely one of the things that keep me reading. And all of the books on this list have that in spades.
K.F. Breene is one of those authors that once you read one of her books, you need to binge on the rest. Her heroines are strong, sassy, deeply flawed, and honestly don’t give a crap.
The dialogue in these is great, and there are laugh-out-loud moments that keep you turning pages.
I’ve been a writer since I was fourteen (possibly before that) and I’ve been an official freelance proofreader/copyeditor since 2019. I’ve published over thirty books and proofread or copyedited over sixty-two manuscripts as of this writing. I’ve garnered enough experience in both fields to, at least, be considered.
I connected with the author on LinkedIn and fell in love with the grammar tips she would post. Then I discovered her book on proofreading tips and had to grab my copy. Every single page had me grinning and bobbing my head. I love how she can turn a grammar rule into something fun and memorable. Whether you’re a writer, editor, proofreader, or even publisher, I would recommend adding this fantastic read to your collection.
English can be beastly. With all its soundalike and lookalike words, its peculiar punctuation rules, its ridiculous spelling inconsistencies, and those teeny-tiny apostrophes that love landing in all the wrong places, writing can get downright intimidating.
HAVE NO FEAR! Unflubbify Your Writing is here! Packed with fun examples, this book shows you how to:
Keep spellings straight: capital and capitol, stationary and stationery, forego and forgo, etc.
Avoid comma splices and grocer’s apostrophes.
Pluralize last names.
Understand when to use fewer instead of less.
Use i.e. and e.g. correctly.
Know when—and when not—to…
Professionally, I’ve been a journalist, author, speaker, marketer, adjunct professor, consultant, startup founder, and more; but at my core, I’m a storyteller and a lifelong student. I read voraciously about creativity, writing, media, marketing, psychology, and design, and I’m fascinated by drawing connections between these things. (I’m still allowed to say “read” when I mostly consume audiobooks, right?) I’m currently focused on helping other creators and storytellers master their craft, refine their big ideas, and figure out their unique differentiators, through The Creator Kitchen, the mastermind program I run with fellow creator Jay Acunzo.
Ok, you caught me. I recommended the first edition of this book in a previous list. But this, my friends, is the second edition which, as the cover art indicates, is 10% funnier than the first.
Ann’s work is a testament to the power of honing your unique voice in a way that makes your work easy to identify, clearly differentiated, and dang near impossible to recreate well. Now that we’re battling it out against generative AI, not just other writers, this book serves as both an instructional guide and a case study on developing a distinct voice, in and of itself.
Finally a go-to guide to creating and publishing the kind of content that will make your business thrive. Everybody Writes is a go-to guide to attracting and retaining customers through stellar online communication, because in our content-driven world, every one of us is, in fact, a writer. If you have a web site, you are a publisher. If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means that we are all relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We are all writers. Yeah, but who cares about writing anymore? In a time-challenged world dominated by…
Estelle and I created the list of books based on our over 50 years of combined expertise in helping others to thrive in their careers. Our passion is facilitating the instruction, training, coaching, and professional development to help individuals reach their career goals. We wrote the book about thriving in careers and created a podcast about thriving in careers with over 30 episodes to help others reach their personal and career goals. At the same time, we want others to be their authentic self while thriving in their careers.
I love the book because it helps me step out of my comfort zone to be a successful speaker.
Although I am in education and speak in front of students, I usually do not like to speak in front of large audiences. The book helps me not only prepare to be a successful speaker but also how to get paid and build my brand as a successful speaker. I can still be my authentic self and thrive in my career.
Do you have a message you want to get out into the world? Have you ever dreamed of speaking for a living? Is there something you have to say but just aren't sure what to do next? The Successful Speaker is a proven, easy-to-follow guide to helping you do just that.
Whether you want to speak at your next board meeting or community gathering, start making some extra money on the side, or become a full-time professional speaker, Grant Baldwin knows how to get you from here to there. Why? Because he's done it himself and has coached over 2,000…
When I first started traveling at 16, I struggled. It's not always easy to learn a new language, adapt to a different culture, and build connections. But as I got more comfortable and confident navigating through my new environment, things started to improve. I know what it’s like to start from scratch, to move to a new country, to develop and use my communication skills to move up the business ladder. This is why I now use my experience to speak, train, and coach people from a variety of countries and cultures on how to become impactful communicators, and have written a book on the importance of global communication skills.
This book has added great value to my public speaking career. Gallo's insights into TED speakers' techniques have improved my presentations into engaging, memorable experiences. Particularly impactful were the strategies on storytelling and the 18-minute rule, which have empowered me to connect with audiences more effectively.
This book is more than about speaking; it's a guide to making your ideas resonate. Gallo's practical advice has given me more tools to deliver presentations that spark interest and inspire action. It is an essential tool for anyone looking to elevate their communication skills.
Learn the public-speaking secrets of the world's top minds
Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century. In order to succeed, you need to be able to sell your ideas persuasively. This ability is the single greatest skill that will help you accomplish your dreams. TED Talks have redefined the elements of a successful presentation and become the gold standard for public speaking. TED―which stands for technology, entertainment, and design―brings together the world's leading thinkers. These are the presentations that set the world on fire, and the techniques that top TED speakers use will make any presentation more dynamic, fire…
Early in my career I landed a job as a magazine editor. Shazam! I could publish my own articles! But I discovered that I actually had no idea how to write anything interesting, English major though I’d been. So I began to figure out what makes writing work. Over decades as a journalist, corporate communicator, and consultant, I did learn. I also saw colleagues miss their best opportunities, even screw up their lives, by writing badly—unpersuasively. And a mission was born: to share the tools and techniques of powerful communication. I’ve created dozens of workshops for businesspeople and professionals, taught graduate students, and now happily author books jammed with practical advice.
Why do I recommend a book on speechwriting? For the same reasons my book covers spoken communication. Good speeches base on the written word and in turn, yield many lessons for all writers. For example, “sayability” is a hallmark of writing that works, and a good way to check yourself. Noonan’s book also reminds us of what matters most: Deciding what you want to say—the substance. Fancy language never camouflages empty thought. Rather than trying to manipulate people, reach them with sincerity and specific language that’s “simple, unadorned, direct, declarative.” Noonan recommends appealing to the brain with logic. Psychologists, meanwhile, stress that we make most decisions based on emotion—but I think both are right: Persuasive writing reaches both heart and mind.
Advice from Peggy Noonan:"The most moving thing in a speech is its logic. It's not the flowery words or flourishes, it's not the sentimental exhortations, it's never the faux poetry we're all subjected to these days. It's the logic behind your case. A good case well argued and well said is inherently moving. It shows respect for the brains of the listeners. There is an implicit compliment in it. It shows you're a serious person and understand that you are talking to other serious people.
No speech should last more than 20 minutes. Why? Because Ronald Reagan said so. Reagan…
