"In How Leaders Speak, communication skills coach Jim Gray, a contributor to The Globe and Mail’s Careers section, asks you to imagine your CEO has just come to your office and advised you that you will be giving a major speech at a forthcoming industry convention. From there, he takes you in detail — but always with admirable clarity — through his five keys to a presentation: Preparation, building the certainty you can pull the talk off, passion, engagement, and commitment to improving your communication overall. Within that format, he covers all the essential elements of presentations, no doubt with some tips that will help you to be more effective."

Senior executives, professionals, politicians, entrepreneurs, and educators are increasingly being evaluated by how well they speak — how credibly, how naturally and how enthusiastically. In today’s communication-saturated age, the ability to address others effectively has become the essential mark of a leader.

Jim Gray’s first book, How Leaders Speak, published by The Dundurn Group, covers the five keys to speaking like a leader: preparation, certainty, passion, engagement, and commitment.

It’s a personal handbook for planning and conveying presentations that will engage and inspire others, from overcoming nervousness to responding to difficult questions from listeners.

The book reveals how to connect like an achiever, whether it’s delivering a keynote speech, taking part in a panel discussion, or even participating in a media interview.

How Leaders Speak — it’s about finding the leader in you.