people have a tendency to take notes and respond in an affirmative manner, a la a revival meeting.

A previously available book will make a speaking performance more memorable for the audience, particularly if you begin with bits from the book. If you segue into new material then you can introduce them to material from your next book, often available in the lobby on the way out or easily obtained from your website.

But the book has to be more than transcribed diatribe. It has to reach into the soul and the pocketbook of the reader. You have to speak to everyone and just one person at a time all at once. You have to get them to relate to your personal experiences and extrapolate your insights in a useful manner to their own specific place in the world.

Anecdotes serve well as long as there is a moral to them. If you are just reeling off bits of your biography, it is not as powerful as retelling the truth with a bit of artistic license, so that the moral or the philosophical punchline comes across not just as a fait accompli but a twist on the way that others might normally think.

A little research into any topic you introduce, particularly if it has a scientific or historical basis, can come in very handy. Footnotes are not necessary, but a bibliography for those curious about your source material is a must. Never encapsulate your tale or your thesis entirely in your own world view. Always leave a pathway to further reading in the works of other authors. Never assume that you are smarter than your reader. Never assume that they are functioning without the ability to do a little research on their own. You can encourage them to engage in further learning without overwhelming them with intellectual or cultural references that you have to define for them. Also, if you want to engage in a bit of badinage or vituperative about a favorite subject or peeve that is not entirely germaine to the main subject at hand, save it for the last chapter or another book.

Unless your topic is specifically political, leave the politics for the dinner table. Your readers are entitled to your personal beliefs only to the extent that they reflect the philosophy that you are espousing. Avoid being too topical in your references. Nothing sucks more than a dated book that requires the reader to go to the library to check out back issues of the local paper.