Before You Say a Word

Learn what the best speakers do and don't do, and communicate with more confidence in both formal and informal situations, with audiences big and small.

Before you got into leadership, did you expect you'd be doing so much speaking? It seems you're always talking—in faculty meetings and one-on-one evaluations; in PD sessions and department meetings; at parents' night and awards ceremonies; to colleagues, supervisors, and the school board; and in front of dozens or hundreds or just a webcam and a ring light. You need to move and motivate, inform and edify, and sometimes pitch policy directives you know will be unpopular. Spoken communication and effective messaging is a huge component of your leadership role, and yet you were never trained for this part of the job!

Packed with practical and actionable advice, Before You Say a Word gives school and district leaders the essential oral communication training that graduate programs leave out. Author Erik Palmer, a speaking specialist and former teacher, stresses proper preparation and explains everything from the basics of audience analysis to how to rescue a terrible set of presentation slides. You'll learn how to plan for and deliver even complicated and sensitive messages to all kinds of audiences, in person and virtually, and in a way that is professional, clear, authentic, and never boring.