Carma Spence Talks about Public Speaking Super Powers (book)

Welcome, readers. I’d like to introduce you to Carma Spence. She’s visiting here today to tell us a bit about her new book, Public Speaking Super Powers.*

Bio:

Carma Spence, author of Public Speaking Super Powers, is a self-confessed “geek who speaks.” She is fiercely committed to supporting people who are introverted, shy, possibly even socially awkward as they unleash their inner speaking superhero and boldly communicate their message with confidence. Her superpower is to help her clients see what is possible for them and guiding them on the journey from where they are to where they want to be, Vanquishing the Mind Goblins of self-doubt, self-sabotage and second-guessing that keep them stuck.

Welcome, Carma. Please tell us a little bit about your book.

Public Speaking Super Powers uses the metaphor of superheroes with their super powers to identify and explain the foundational skills needed to be an effective speaker. It covers skills that come from within, such as passion and authenticity, as well as skills that come from without, such as body language and persuasion.

What inspired you to write this book?

That could be a long story, but I’ll try to keep it short. It all started with a blog post. It was very popular, so I thought that it could be easily expanded into a book. I wrote the book, in part, because the idea was there and it excited me. But I also wrote the book because I found that there are very few—if any—books out there that cover the whole set of skills required to be an effective speaker. Most focus on one small aspect, such as TED talks or persuasive speaking. Public Speaking Super Powers was created to be a strong foundational book that will give readers the basics they need to communicate before groups effectively.

What do you hope people take away from reading your book?

I hope that people take away the idea that speaking is learned skill and that they can improve this skills regardless of who they are or where they are in the communications journey. I want to empower readers to unleash their inner speaking superhero, and to communicate their value and message with confidence.

===BEGIN EXCERPT===

In the world of comics, there are three ways superheroes gain their powers: By birth (think Superman), by training (think Batman) or by some freak accident (think Spider-Man). In the real world, however, you can’t gain great skill through some freak accident. That leaves us with birth or training. And so, it is with the skill of speaking in public.

But is that true? Are there people who are simply born with a natural talent for speaking? Can the rest of us hope to achieve great skill in this area without hard work?

Research suggests that training and hard work trumps talent, if talent is something that exists at all.

…

The bottom line is this: There are a wide variety of factors that make a person good at something (appear to have talent).

…

Therefore, is public speaking a learned skill or a talent you can be born with? Yes.

To be an excellent speaker, it helps to possess a predisposition for a wide variety of abilities that play into the skill, such as comfort in front of an audience, a pleasing voice, and critical thinking. However, all of those abilities can be learned and honed over time.

…

Scott Barry Kaufman puts it this way: “All traits, including the ability to deliberately practice, involve a mix of nature and nurture. In fact, there is no such thing as innate talent. That’s a myth that is constantly perpetuated, despite the fact that most psychologists recognize that all skills require practice and support for their development—even though there are certainly genetic influences (which influence our attention and even our passions).”

…

Regardless of whether you are Superman or Batman when it comes to speaking ability, you will need to put in time and effort to achieve excellence. And this is a good thing, because it means if you want to become a good speaker, you can!>

===END EXCERPT===

What’s your next writing project? Or what can we expect to see from you next?

I plan to release the second edition of my first business book, Home Sweet Home Page, next year. I’m also working on sequels to Public Speaking Super Powers, a couple of books about mindset, an anthology of fiction, poetry and essays, and a couple of cookbooks.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Honestly, I can’t remember that transition. I first began writing stories at the age of four. I always loved writing projects in school. In elementary school, my fourth grade teacher pulled me aside and told me I should pursue a career in writing.

In college, I detoured and pursued a degree in biology with an emphasis in marine biology. While attending U.C. Santa Cruz, I took a science writing class and fell in love. I’ve been a member of the National Association of Science Writers since the late 1980s.

No matter what I do, I always come back to this skill. So, long story short, I guess I’ve pretty much always been a writer.

Please share a little bit about your process for developing/organizing this/any book.

Every book project I tackle has a process unique to that project. For Public Speaking Super Powers, I interviewed 85+ speakers, recording them using one of those conference call lines. The next step was transcribing them all.

Once I had all the transcripts, I organized the quotes I liked into separate files, one per chapter/topic. Then I printed them out, cut each quote out so that it was on its own piece of paper and began arranging these pieces of paper into a logical organization.

The first draft of this book was almost a series of quotes strung together.

At this point, I did Internet research on the topics and information that were not covered in the interviews.

From there I massaged the copy until it flowed well. My husband was my first editor. He really helped me find the parts of the book where I was making assumptions a beginner wouldn’t know. Finally, I hired a professional editor.

From there it was a matter of design and publishing.

What’s a bit of writing advice you wish you’d had before publishing your first book, that you now share with others?

My first book was a cookbook that I self-published. I didn’t understand book sizes and so made it an 8 ½ by 11. It looked so homemade! So the advice I wish I had would be been how to design a better book!

As far as writing, I’ve been writing for so long both professionally and for fun, making the leap to a book wasn’t that big of a deal.

That said, advice I give anyone who asks me is this: Get an editor! No matter how good a writer you are, mistakes will come through that you won’t be able to see. A good editor is worth the investment.

What do you enjoy most about the writing process?

When it comes to my fiction, it is creating new worlds and populating those worlds with people that readers can relate to.

When it comes to nonfiction, it is making my topic easy to understand. I love when I’m able to find a story or metaphor that helps a reader get the topic on a deeper level.

Can you share any particular website or resource you find helpful when you’re writing?

Google.com and Thesaurus.com. The former points me to a wide variety of resources and information. The latter helps me rephrase things more clearly. Wikipedia comes in a close third. It provides a nice foundation on a topic and often points to more resources that can prove helpful.

That said, for this book, it was Trint.com that was a lifesaver! It uses AI technology to transcribe audio files. It saved me both time and money.

How can readers connect with you?

The best way is through my speaking or business websites. That being said, you can also find me on
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub | LinkedIn | Amazon Author Page | Quora | Goodreads | and YouTube.

Thanks for being here today, Carma!