Synopsis

One of the biggest fallacies with media appearances is the notion that you can say something to a "trusted source", in a private situation or "off camera" and it will remain "OFF the record".

To be clear: There is no such thing as OFF THE RECORD!

In today's media scenarios, this point has never been MORE apropos. If you don’t want it repeated, don’t say it.

    ∗    Not at lunch with a reporter.
    ∗    Not if the reporter is your best friend.
    ∗    Not if they’ve promised to keep you off the record.
    ∗    Not if you’ve asked to be kept anonymous.

This book not only gives you a roadmap for how to be an effective public speaker, it provides ways to navigate the sometimes tricky Q&A scenarios that are often overlooked when preparing for a public talk or interview. 

'No Such Thing As Off The Record' provides a complete checklist for how to say what you came to say and not get off topic. 

Why is it important to be effective at public speaking? Anyone who has been in front of an audience or on camera, unprepared, knows the answer to this question immediately. This is not a format where "winging it" is okay. 

Public speaking is a necessary and indispensable life skill, and most people are called upon to speak in public at some point in their lives. Public speaking improves research and organizational abilities - which are crucial skills for high school and college success. Employers rank public speaking as one of the top skills they look for in employees, with some employers declaring public speaking ability as their number 1 most desired trait in employees. 

Speech training and practice help develop social skills, such as confidence, eye contact, poise, and articulation. Whether you are just looking to improve your elevator pitch or you are preparing  for a national media campaign, reading this book will have you feeling confident and give you the steps you need to be ready.

Andrea Devaux has led media training and image consulting workshops throughout the United States for almost three decades. Her background is a combination of media advocacy, theater directing and film production. 

Outline

CONTENTS

Chapter 1         Formula for success

Chapter 2         What makes NEWS?

Chapter 3         Goals

Chapter 4         Preparation

Chapter 5         The Audience

Chapter 6         Strategy

Chapter 7         Appearance

Chapter 8         Body Language

Chapter 9         How to say what you want to say

Chapter 10       Sound Bites

Chapter 11       Warnings

Chapter 12      After the Interview

Audience

Of all the phobias out there, public speaking is considered the highest. It affects 3 out of 4 people or 75% of individuals that suffer from speech anxiety. It also accounts for 19% and the largest majority of those suffering from some form of phobia out there. An estimated 5.3 million Americans suffer from a social phobia, with 74% suffering from speech anxiety. 

A fear of public speaking can have a significant impact on your career given that those who have it make about 10% less, on average, than those who don’t. And that makes sense when you consider just how pervasive presentations are—from the boardroom to the newsroom, nearly every industry involves some form of speaking in front of a group.

In addition to lowering your potential wages, a fear of public speaking also makes it more difficult to be promoted to a management position.  If you find yourself in management, you could be called upon to not only represent yourself, but more importantly, the point of view of your organization. You need to be prepared with the tools of how to get a specific message across to not only those working with you on your team, but to potentially millions of people.

if you're a working professional, this book is for you . Whether you're an engineer, product manager, online marketer, designer, or tech entrepreneur. Perhaps you're a junior employee at a big company, a senior expert in your field, or a startup founder. All professionals have opportunities to give presentations, and sometimes these presentations are required to do a job well. For example, you might:

• be called upon by the media to defend your company's position on a certain topic;
• showcase a project to your teammates or upper management;
• present your product or idea to potential customers or clients and be bombarded with inflammatory questions;
• give a keynote speech at a major industry conference

According to Mehrabian, famous for his work on the relative importance of verbal and non-verbal messages, the three  elements that audiences respond to and get information from,  breakdown into the following ratios:

• words account for 7%, 
• tone of voice accounts for 38%, 
• body language accounts for 55% 

So not only KNOWING what you want to say, but HOW you get that information across in a way that is memorable and UNIQUE is extremely important.

No Such Thing As Off The Record will help you prepare for any kind of presentation where you have to represent yourself or your organization. You will come away prepared, relatable and ready to be your best self, even under fire.

Promotion

As President and Co-founder of https://newofmarin.com/ (a rapidly growing women's business networking group based in the San Francisco Bay Area), I spearhead a sphere of influence in the women's entrepreneurial field which includes close ties to other published authors, speakers, thought leaders and politicians. My book campaign will be promoted widely through these circles of influence.

I have a social media network (primarily Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) of over 5,000 contacts that span connections from my work in film production, theater directing, my connections through teaching, media advocacy, and even connections through the school district that my daughters attend. I am lucky to be connected to a close nit community and live in an area that has a wide support network of friends and associates that span local and global markets. 

In my formative years I was chosen to represent my City (Nelson, New Zealand) as an Ambassador for Rotary International. I have remained in contact with many of the other Rotarians and other Rotary Exchange Students over the past 3 decades and have connections literally all over the world. We meet and have reunions every 5 years. These individuals have gone on to be major "Influencers" in their home countries and are poised to support my book efforts.

I consider myself a citizen of the world. I grew up in New Zealand, have lived in California for most of my adult life however in my early 20's I spent 5 years traveling around the world by bicycle (that will be the next book - 😉). Throughout my travels, I made many valuable life long connections. 

I have and continue to give public speaking talks to various groups such as Business Networking Groups, Rotary, BNI and so forth, on a regular basis. Because the topic of my talk is on Public Speaking, these events are a natural venue to promote my book and subsequent training sessions.

Over the past 30 years I have helped hundreds of individuals with their public speaking and media appearances. Many have given testimonials on my website or via LinkedIn. These folks are ready and willing to help me "spread the word" regarding the promotion of my book.

My website is:

https://nosuchthingasofftherec...

Competition

TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking

by Chris Anderson, curator of TED

published by Mariner Books, April, 2017

This book primarily focuses on giving a speech worthy of a TED talk. My book focuses on ALL aspects of public speaking scenarios including television interviews, hostile reporters and live public speaking events.

Confident Speaking - A Practical Guide

by Alan Woodhouse

published by Icon Books, May 2014

This book has some great foundational work for preparing to give a speech however as opposed to my book, it tends to belabor the preparation process (which potentially can stagnate a would-be speaker with worrying about whether they are doing everything right)... whereas my book jumps right into how to IMMEDIATELY get results.

Speaking Under Pressure: Learn from the Testimony and Real-Life Experiences of an Actor, a Spy, a Private Eye

by Dennis Sakamoto

published by Amazon KDP, December 2017

This book focuses on real-life experiences of the author. There are no techniques or theories in this book. This book is an impactful read however it's not the nuggets of bite size information that my book provides. My book is a check list of what to do and what not to do: a quick read to help you brush up on things to remember right before a media appearance.

Speak with Power and Grace: A Woman's Guide to Public Speaking

by Linda D. Swink

published by Skyhorse Publishing, January 2014

Drawing on her own successful experience and presenting advice from top female executives, Linda D. Swink guides women through each step of preparing for a speech and how to deliver it by using visual aids, voice control, and humor, among other techniques. This book is a great read on how to prepare for a speech. However it doesn't focus on other types of media appearances such as a television interview. And it's focus is directed towards women whereas my book takes both genders and what they need to think about, into consideration.