Your Public Best: The Complete Guide to Making Successful Public Appearances in the Meeting Room, on the Platform, and on TV

As you rise to shake hands with an interviewer, approach a podium, or greet an audience from a television set, you are being judged based on your appearance. These few seconds can mean the difference between making a vital connection with a person or audience and losing a job, viewers, or the respect you deserve.

In this no-nonsense, definitive sourcebook, Lillian Brown, the expert’s expert, distills over forty years of “insider” experience as a consultant for countless familiar faces, including Diane Sawyer, Dan Rather, and six U.S. presidents beginning with John F. Kennedy, to help you at any stage of your career and life with personal appearance, voice improvement, public speaking, handling the media, and appearing on television.

Plus, she answers the most frequently asked questions, including:

• What kinds of clothes should I wear when I’m giving a speech, making a business presentation, or appearing on television?
• What colors are best to wear when I’m in public?
• Can I change my voice (lower the pitch or get rid of a regional accent, for example)?
• When I’m giving a talk or lecture, how can I organize my thoughts so that I don’t ramble?
• What can I do to avoid stage fright?

Lillian Brown, with CBS News for more than thirty years, has been the makeup expert of choice for six US presidents (from Kennedy to Clinton), voice consultant to the US Chamber of Commerce, and the former director of radio/TV for Georgetown University, where she currently teaches. She also teaches at the Yale Women's Campaign School and conducts workshops and lectures throughout the country. She resides in the Washington, DC, area.