Genre: Non-Fiction
Description:
“The ability to speak in public is probably the most rewarding skill
you will ever learn. It will not only improve your career prospects, but will
also boost your self-confidence at social functions (you may never become the
life and soul of the party, but at least you won't have to remain a
wallflower!)
Have you ever:
·
Been nervous about a promotion because it
involved public speaking?
·
Been afraid to speak up in meetings?
·
Turned down an invitation to speak at your garden
club or similar (or choked horribly in the attempt)?
·
Been unsure about proposing a toast, or
introducing and thanking a speaker?
Then you will benefit from the tips and guidelines in this book.
Self-confidence comes from knowing the correct way of doing things - and how to
avoid the pitfalls.”
Author:
A native of the UK who now lives in South Africa, Jan Hurst-Nicholson
is the award-winning author of numerous books in multiple genres. You can read
about them, as well as more about Jan by visiting her website.
Appraisal:
The title of this book comes from the punchline of a Jerry Seinfeld
joke. It’s his reaction to hearing that studies have found most people fear
public speaking more than death. It’s true that most of us fear public
speaking. Yet most of us have situations where we need to do this. Some of
those situations, say explaining something in your team meeting at work, aren’t
even what most of us view as public speaking, but they require some of the same
skills, and many of us react the same. Whether at work, in social and family
situations, or to help meet our commitments in church and community groups,
public speaking skills are something we could all benefit from obtaining.
This book aims to be an extensive reference to help obtain those
skills. It has sections that have hints for preparing and delivering a speech.
Another section focuses on different kinds of speaking situations with discussion
on the unique aspects to be aware of and prepared for in each.
The author mentions spending 35 years as the member of a club that was
focused on learning public speaking skills. It’s apparent she’s learned a lot
and that knowledge is reflected in this book.
If the book falls short, it is because building public speaking skills
exclusively by reading is tough. The opportunity to practice speaking and
obtain knowledgeable feedback as part of a club or group, as Ms Hurst-Nicholson
did, is the other part of the equation for many people. I’m surprised the
author didn’t at least briefly outline the advantages of this and include some
suggestions on how to find such a club. (Many clubs are associated with
Toastmasters International. That and your favorite search engine will get you
headed the right direction.) To be fair, there are a couple sentences as part
of the last paragraph of actual content in the book that mention the potential
of finding a club, but given the emphasis and location, I suspect it won’t register
with most readers. My advice is to do both. Buy the book. Join a club.
FYI:
Uses UK spelling conventions.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: ****
Four Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate
word count: 25-30,000 words
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