The first sentence must be a grabber--use it to hook your audience.
Start in the middle of the action, and center your talk on action rather than description. What is happening/has happened to the main characters?/
Talk in the language of your audience--don't try to imitate someone else or sound overly proper and dignified.
Keep your sentences relatively short, but not all the same length and style. Your audience will be listening to what you are saying, not reading what you have written.
If you plan to use props in your talk, make sure that there is a reason for each one you use. Don't use props for every talk in a presentation, and make sure that the ones you use don't overshadow what you are saying about the book. Props should enhance your talk and make it more real, but not overwhelm it.
Keep the purpose of your talk in mind--persuading someone to read the book--and don't wander on and on. Plan a beginning, middle, and an end, and don't go off on tangents.
Stop when you get to the end of your talk, when you have told enough to hook your listeners--don't just wander on and on.
Booktalks are of different lengths, and you may not need to say much to hook someone. Don't feel obligated to talk on and on.
The last sentence must also be a hook for your audience. It lets them know that they will be missing out on something if they don't read the book, and convinces them that something else exciting is going to be happening that they want to know about.
Write down your talk, both the version you will practice from and what you will take into the presentation with you.
Keep your talks. You never know when you'll need it again.
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