John Zimmer (connect on LinkedIn) is a Keynote Speaker, Presentation Skills Trainer, and Public Speaking Coach.

On top of that, he is also a 9-times District Winner in Toastmasters Speech Contests, member of an Improv Troupe and blogger at mannerofspeaking.org, where he wrote more than 800 blog posts on public speaking over the past 13 years.

The topics we cover in this episode (Part 1 of the interview):

• John's journey to becoming a professional speaker
• Toastmasters as a public speaking laboratory
• John's Four-Step Process for developing a speech
• Thinking about the Audience First
• Starting a blog - and sticking to writing for 13 years
• Giving a speech vs. recording a YouTube video

Topics you can look forward to in Part 2:

• Extroverts vs. Introverts in Public Speaking
• How the Public Speaking Game Rhetoric helps people relax into giving speeches
• Different ways to practice public speaking
• How Improv improves your public speaking
• Writing Books
• The first steps for a future Professional Speaker

Links mentioned:

• Part 1 (this episode):
  • John's winning Humorous Speech from 2008 - Pay Attention
  • The public speaking fear grid
• Part 2 (next episode)
  • Keith Johnstone's (the father of Improv) website
  • Benefits of improv
  • Rhetoric - The Public Speaking Game

Bonus material:

John's analysis of his own District-winning humorous speech: Anatomy of a Humorous Speech

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This show is hosted by Lukas Liebich. You can connect with him on Twitter @lukasliebich or read his blog at lukasliebich.com