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How to give a talk about a tech book in front of people

· 5 min read
D Balaji
D Balaji
Lead Design Technologist

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As a passionate reader, I find myself describing the book in brief passionately to my friends. I went on to give multiple book talks in the library. In this post, I put a checklist on the steps to prepare and deliver wonderful book talks at library/community events or on Youtube.

What is a book-talk​

Book-talk is a form of public speaking where the speaker talks about a book to persuade the audience to read the book.

Book talk is a way to push a book on the audience to-read list with the help of a short speech. 😃

What is the prerequisite for talking in public?​

People naturally listen to you if you have a status in the society, a leadership role or if you have specialized knowledge like a scientist or sportsperson. A vast majority of us do not fall into the above category but we are not left out.

We may be passionate about a topic and want to tell the world. That's the starting point in public speaking. The passion gives you the charisma, content, the guts to talk in front of people and confront the defiant.

Passion towards your idea is the prerequisite. Then comes the platform (could be TED/Youtube/Blog/Public gathering) and your communication style.

How is book-talk different from the book summary​

Book summary came into existence because many people believe that the facts/bullet points are important than the style of the author, the narrative, the case studies, and the flow of content in the book. One person reads the books, highlights the points which he felt were important, and circulates it around as a book summary with some description around the key points.

Book talks are different from book summaries because the goal is different. Book talks are delivered to persuade the people to read the book rather than showering the highlights of the book. To persuade the audience, we include some persuasion techniques like storytelling, social proof, etc. The book talk is a success when the audience read the book themselves.

How to give a killer book-talk​

Here is my 10 point checklist, better follow in the same order

  1. Pick a book you are passionate about and fix a date to give the talk

  2. Start with 3 simple questions that relate to the audience. This is a hook to bring audiences into your world from theirs.

  3. Describe why you think the author had written the book, is a part of any book series

  4. Talk about the author and his work

  5. Talk about how this book can impact your carrier. Will it help you realize your dream

  6. Comment on the language used, are there any illustrations or charts that could fascinate the audience

  7. Is it a light/heavy read, can every give it a read. Describe your reading experience

  8. Talk about one touching story from the book

  9. Give some insights about the book ratings online, the price, and where they can buy/lend the book. Give your rating out of 5.

  10. Conclude with a fantastic stanza or concept from the book. This should be the takeaway for the audience.

What could be the ideal duration of a book-talk​

A book talk's effectiveness is important than the duration. Having said that, my ideal duration would be 20 minutes with 10 minutes to interact with the audience.

If it's a fiction book, the book talk could be revealing the plot so keep it under 10 minutes.

I am not a legal geek so here is my take. We are helping get more people to read/buy the book. We did not claim the works to be ours, nor deriving profits like book-summary services.

With a book talk we are striving for a win-win for the publisher and readers.

Where can you give a book talk​

Start by talking at the local library. you may have very few audiences which are fine so that you can perform and practice along.

If there is no library then make videos and upload them on youtube. Don't forget to promote the video to the right audience so that they discover your book talk.

How can I defeat the fear of public speaking​

Are you passionate about the book and want more people to read the book, then make a book talk and deliver it. Let your passion be the force that defeats the fear of public speaking.

How to avoid controversy during the speech​

Avoid topics which could trigger emotions like

  1. Sexual topics / discussing erotica

  2. Comparing religions / quoting and vilifying people from a religion

  3. Avoid praising politicians or otherwise

The above 3 are followed extensively at toastmasters international so it could work for you.

Adding to above 3,

  • do not volunteer to give health tip because it may not work as expected for everyone in the room

  • discuss or promote illegal practices just to look cool

  • Most importantly be ready to say sorry if you said something by mistake or offended anyone.

I do not want to do public speaking but want to do a book -talk​

Ok, you can write a blog post about your favorite book. I have done that and it does the job. Visit my medium articles for inspiration.