7 must-read books for public speakers

The pile of books by my desk was starting to block the fire escape, so it was time to read them and glean insights for public speakers and communicators.

Here are seven books you may find helpful:

1. “Absolute Value: What really influences customers in the age of (nearly) perfect information“ by Itamar Simonson and Emanuel Rosen

The authors of “Absolute Value” want you to understand that the Internet has near-perfect information about you and your business. You’d better start paying attention to what others are saying about you. Also, you’d better turn out a good product.

Of course this idea is not new, but I like these authors’ mnemonic device, POM: “P” is an individual’s prior beliefs about something, “O” is what other people are saying and “M” stands for those poor, increasingly irrelevant marketers.