The transition from being an expert who speaks for visibility to being a highly paid professional speaker is not as glamorous as you may think. Because too many people believe that having great speaking skills is all it takes to be a professional speaker. The speaking profession has matured into a competitive, sophisticated business.

You want to speak like you.�Nevertheless, Nevertheless, as a student of the art of public speaking, you can � and should � observe Obama�s oratorical skills. Study Obama�s repertoire, take what you like, and use what you can to improve your own public speaking.� Start where the audience is, not where you are. But try it.

Whatever audience you must persuade, you need to engage them with compelling content in the form of stories. Presenting to Win overflows with practical advice on how to engage an audience by telling your story with a focus on what’s important to them. That’s easy to say, but hard to do. Yahoo!, How many enjoy doing it?

About a year ago, I wrote a post on 'rhetorical denial' - a term I use to refer to the way in which outstanding orators don’t always like their technical ability being noticed or analysed by others - and will sometimes use a rhetorical device or two to deny that they're any good at public speaking.

But for Gordon Brown this year, his live audience is arguably far more important than usual, consisting as it will of key Labour decision-makers and activists who will have to be won over if he’s to succeed in reducing the heat in the kitchen. So here are three tips that could help to make or break his performance on Tuesday.

If you have spent years building a successful training career and now want to expand into keynote, luncheon and after-dinner speaking, its time for a reality check. The keynote speaker must still touch the audiences heart and do it quickly. More emphasis is placed on how the audience will feel after the presentation. Pamela S.