10.  Toastmasters.  The volunteer organization that will give you the chance to learn the craft of public speaking in a relatively safe space, at little or no cost. 

9.  William Safire’s Lend Me Your Ears.   Still the best collection of great speeches, and a must-have resource for any serious public speaker. 

8.  TED.com.  It’s getting hard to remember, but before TED it was actually difficult to see a new speaker in action easily online.  Now they’re out there – almost all of them, all the time. 

7.  Flipcams.  Buy 2, record yourself speaking with one, and record the audience with the other.  You’ll get deep insight into how you’re coming across.

6.  Phil Davison, Internet sensation.  Technically, Phil delivered his speech just over a year ago, but I’m still really, really thankful. 

5.  The iPad.   You can show videos, slides, and even use your iPad as a white board with a growing array of apps.  So much less to carry on the road!

4.  Garr Reynolds and Nancy Duarte.   The best designers and thinkers about great slide presentations out there.  Presentation Zen and Slide:ology (and their other books) should be on your bookshelf, dogeared. 

3.  Herman Caine.   Did we need another perfect example of how not to handle a media firestorm?  And yet, companies and campaigns still don’t get it right.   Apparently, we needed this guy.  Transparency, people!

2.  Mirror neurons.  These nifty little brain cells make us an empathetic species.  Without them, we would not be able to share a laugh, get excited together about an opportunity – or change the world with a speech. 

1.  Rick Perry’s “Oops.”  A 52-second flub that gives hope to the rest of us, imperfect speakers always trying to improve our craft.