The A-Ha! Method: Communicating Powerfully in a Time of Distraction

by Gabe Zichermann

Helps professionals of all skill levels connect and engage with the distracted audiences of today and tomorrow.
Audiences today are more distracted than ever. As a result, traditional forms of communication and public speaking simply don’t work. Noted behavioral designer and gamification expert Gabe Zichermann has an leveraging behavioral science and breakthrough techniques to help anyone pitch, speak, or lead meetings with confidence and success.
The A-Ha! Communicating Powerfully in an Age of Distraction weaves together the latest research and Zichermann’s own experiences as a renowned keynote speaker and speaking coach in a practical, step-by-step, and easy to follow guide that can make anyone stand out from the crowd.
Readers will learn how to construct stories for maximum impact using techniques from the theatre, improv, and stand up comedy. They’ll apply lessons from the behavioral sciences to structuring talks with a rhythm and meter that’s designed to cut through the fog of distraction. And they’ll learn to build talks, decks, and personal habits to combat speaking anxiety and improve performance.

The A-Ha! Method is designed to help both beginners launching their journeys and experienced speakers in refining their approaches in this radically different media landscape. Anyone can become a great speaker and communicator. The A-Ha! Method provides the most up-to-date and science-based approach to leveling up speaking, pitching and leadership skills.

240 pages, Hardcover

Published March 4, 2023

Reviews

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I remember the first time I was invited to give a TED presentation. I received an email from a nice European lady that I met once at a conference, asking if I had any interest in coming to Belgium that summer and presenting at a new event they were launching called TEDxKids. It was going to bring together some of the best minds around parenting and child behavior, and they wanted me to come because of my work on gamification,” writes Gabe Zichermann at the beginning of his new book, The A-Ha! Method: Communicating Powerfully in a Time of Distraction. “Was I ‘ready’ to do that talk when the email came through? Hell no. Despite having given many corporate and conference talks, there were good odds that I’d mess up my lines and embarrass myself on a global stage. Did I imagine that such a public failure would wreck my career—ending it in the first trimester? You betcha…But I still said yes. And I knew that once I said yes, and my name was on the website speakers list that I wasn’t going to be able to back out. I would, in effect, be forcing myself to face one of my great fears (international embarrassment) and to challenge myself to say something to the world that was different and imaginative enough that it would change history.”

By starting off the read with such intense affability, Zichermann is able to instantly reel us in, on an interpersonal level. That is key. Often the complaints with books of this nature is how they are work to read, when often applicable in already precarious and stressful times in the reader’s life. Target demographics when it comes to nonfiction books about self-betterment in the modern age, and communication techniques often are maligned for narrative frailties, such as dryness and a sense of unintentional flintiness and high-handedness. Experts are often so in love and well-versed in the material they promote that the human element – ironically so – can sometimes fall to the wayside. But Zichermann has too much self-awareness, and style to let this happen.

“What you really need is a system: something that can help you bring order and process to the chaos that is learning something new and challenging. combined with coaching and guidance, such a system can allow you to shift your focus from the mechanics of public speaking to the substance of public speaking. And in the process, you’ll acquire the chutzpah to say yes to big career opportunities, even if they scare you to death,” Zichermann writes about one’s solidification for self-presentation. “This is the promise of the A-ha! Method—and what animated my desire to teach what i’ve learned. if we want to unlock everyone’s true potential, we need to make it possible for them to communicate the beautiful ideas locked in their minds to the rest of the world, and to allow those ideas to shift our understanding. in order to accomplish this, we have to overcome two great and scary forces: the audience’s distraction and the speaker’s fear of failure.”

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's lots of good stuff here. I suspect some of the content will be irrelevant for readers. But that's OK since that means it's quite thorough. This info is probably most relevant for public speakers, but some of it can be applied to other situations. Most readers will find some value here.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!