Long before I stand up before an
audience, I put myself through a reality check. Why have they invited ME? What do they expect of me? Between the airfare and hotel expenses, how much is it costing them to have me there? A month—or a year—after I have left them, what will they remember of my presentation? J. Lyman MacInnis, author of The Elements of Great Public Speaking wrote: “The adage is that talk is cheap. Well, it isn’t. Talk can be extremely expensive, both literally and figuratively.”

From the Foreword