Public speaking is one of the things many fear the most. This fear is justified--Many eyes to look into and many minds to contend with. Thoughts are elusive. The catcher of powerful thoughts--the apt words--are even more elusive. Yet, you do not need to despair. By standing on the shoulders of great orators, you can also speak with facility, felicity, cogency, and potency.

Great orators have produced immortal thoughts couched in immortal words. This book selects the gems and the most versatile phrases in the top 100 speeches in the history of American rhetoric of the last century, so that you do not have to tire your mind and tax your time spending months going through all these speeches to mine the diamonds of powerful thoughts and felicitous words. This book furnishes you with powerful and ready blocks for the efficient construction of edifices of powerful ideas embodied in powerful words.

The top 100 speeches are the most significant American political speeches of the 20th century, according to 137 leading scholars of American public address. Their inclusion and ranking are based on their "social and political impact," "rhetorical artistry," "eloquence," and "power."

Organized according to each step in the preparation process and augmented with examples to clarify the points made, this book pulls together major principles and techniques used by today's effective speakers.

But of the considerations which belong to things, some are connected with the thing itself which is the subject of discussion; some are considered in the performance of the thing; some are united with the thing itself; some follow in the accomplishment of the thing. Those things are connected with the thing itself which appear always to be attached to the thing and which cannot be separated from it.

This is not a course in old-fashioned, spread-eagle oratory. It is an intensive and thoroughly tested course to help the business and professional man in his speaking, both public and in private. The course has aided thousands of business and professional men to become creditable speakers, many of whom were formerly unable to say half a dozen sentences effectively when facing an audience. This course has developed men. It has increased their faith and vision, and shown them how to use their latent forces to the fullest possible extent. It has made leaders out of many who were previously only mute followers. Also included in the book are three stories: Acres of Diamonds by R.H. Conwell; A Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard and As a Man Thinketh by James Allen.

There is only one thing worse than being in the audience when the speaker has had a Groucho Marx moment - "I've had a wonderful time, but this wasn't it!" - and that is being the speaker in question! This humorous, insightful and practical book should interest anyone involved in speaking at events, those considering making the step to becoming a speaker, and especially for those who are professional keynote speakers and trainers. Wide-ranging in its content, the book explains the key qualities needed for successful speakers striving for excellence, preparation and content, platform skills, building a business and working with bureaus and agents. With contributions from some of the world's top speakers in different areas of expertise, the book aims to make you feel inspired to pursue the way to excellence as a speaker.

Whether you're preparing for your first booktalk or you're a seasoned booktalking pro, this lively and light-hearted guide provides all the information you need to create a smashing booktalking program-from finding your audience and choosing the books to performing the booktalk and evaluating the program. Filled with insightful, humorous, and inspiring stories from some of today's best booktalkers, this practical guide includes hundreds of sample booktalks, reproducible forms, and booktalk booklists for a wide variety of audiences. A must purchase for anyone who booktalks or wants to get started. Topics include: * Why Booktalk? * The Golden Rules of Booktalking * Choosing Your Books * Building a No-Fail Booktalk * Delivering a Dazzling Booktalk * Booktalking to Adults * Booktalking to Children and Teens * Booktalking in Schools * Taking It on the Road * Booktalking Variations * Evaluation and All That Jazz

The "bible" of the professional speaking industry, including ideas on how to pick strong topics for speeches, guidelines for setting fees, how to book oneself, and more. Sample worksheets and agreements to customize are also included.

The second volume of the ultimate reference for anyone preparing to speak in public. Includes hundreds of audience-tested anecdotes, stories, and quotes covering a variety of approaches within each topic and a broad range of subjects.

We've all known the "naturals"-- people who can get up to speak in any business situation and make something happen. They get the budget approved, win the big account, get the group's support at the weekly staff meeting. When the "naturals" finish speaking people believe-- and act. Now fully revised and updated, "Speak and Get Results" helps you to be a natural-- helps you to get the results you want, by teaching you how to:

motivate your listeners to reach your result

choose an opening that targets your ideas

design visuals that support you, not sabotage you

use your body and your voice to express your energy, authority, and commitment

handle tough Q & A sessions, audience resistance, and even surprise media encounters

Why do some speakers succeed while many bore their audiences and lose their listeners? Speaking coach Joan Detz has worked with top clients for more than 15 years and has the answers. In this useful and lively book she presents strategies and tips for speeches, sales presentations, brief remarks, job interviews, Q&A sessions, panels, and more -- every situation that requires something to say.

Topics include: organizing your message * finding terrific research * using storytelling techniques * preparing the room * handling technical glitches * working with other speakers * measuring your effectiveness * making the most of your voice * mastering humor * using body language * conquering nervousness * building audience rapport * tapping the power of persuasion.

Filled with checklists, tip sheets, self-evaluations, and practical advice on every page, this thorough and invaluable guide takes the mystery out of our most dreaded experience. This book will help you say it better-whether you're talking to one or one thousand.

Greek mythology, an important part of the curriculum for middle and high school students, serves as an exciting source of creative inspiration. Through these 26 scripts, you will not only introduce students to a fascinating body of literature, but also build their oral reading and presentation skills. Each script introduces a character from Greek mythology and chronicles some of the important mythical events surrounding the figure. Students get to know heroes, such as Heracles and Athena, in addition to lesser known but equally fascinating figures, such as Chiron and Asclepius. A pronunciation guide for more than 300 Greek names and a detailed index make this a user-friendly resource.

Here's lookin' at you, kid…

Called upon to make a toast at your daughter’s dirthday? Your boss's baby shower? Your brother's wedding? Your sister's divorce? Don't worry about what to say. Pour everyone a drink and relax. Your wit is about to get sharpened for you…

May you live as long as you want, and not want as long as you live…

This entertaining and comprehensive guide—fully indexed by category, occasion and contributor—includes more than 1,300 heartwarming, hilarious, cynical, sentimental, and exotic toasts. It is the perfect party companion, whether you’re saluting good health, bad habits, old enemies, or new friends.

To all our guests who make us happy, some by coming and others by going…

Featuring all the right words for all right occasions by Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Dorothy Parker, Mark Twain, Groucho Marx, John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, W.C. Fields, Bette Davis, Jack London, Robert Frost, Ogden Nash, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, John Barrymore, P.J. O'Rourke, Miss Piggy, Emily Dickinson, William Shakespeare, Mae West, Walter Winchell, Socrates, Benjamin Franklin, Victor Hugo, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Gloria Steinhem and hundreds of others who never worried about being at a loss for words.

And here's to living well, 'tis the best revenge…

(Ahem)…I think it was a wise old soul who once said…

Never eat more than you can lift. —Miss Piggy

Here's to age. Do not resist growing old, many are denied the privilege. —Anonymous

A Merry Christmas this December to a lot of folks I don't remember. —Franklin Adams

I have known many, liked a few, loved only one, so here's to you. —Anonymous

Forgive your enemies, but remember their names! —John F. Kennedy

Here's to happiness, it sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open. —John Barrymore

Here's to love which doesn't make the world go round, but it sure makes the ride worthwhile. —Mae West

I know the things I know, and do the things I do, And if you do not like me so to hell, my love, with you! —Dorothy Parker

Let us toast the fools; but for them the rest of us could not succeed. —Mark Twain

I used to know a clever toast, but pshaw, I cannot think of it. So fill your glass to anything, and bless your souls I'll drink to it. —Wallace Irwin

Oratory emerged as the first major form of verbal art in early America because, as John Quincy Adams observed in 1805, ""eloquence was POWER."" In this book, Sandra Gustafson examines the multiple traditions of sacred, diplomatic, and political speech that flourished in British America and the early republic from colonization through 1800. She demonstrates that, in the American crucible of cultures, contact and conflict among Europeans, native Americans, and Africans gave particular significance and complexity to the uses of the spoken word. Gustafson develops what she calls the performance semiotic of speech and text as a tool for comprehending the rich traditions of early American oratory. Embodied in the delivery of speeches, she argues, were complex projections of power and authenticity that were rooted in or challenged text-based claims of authority. Examining oratorical performances as varied as treaty negotiations between native and British Americans, the eloquence of evangelical women during the Great Awakening, and the founding fathers' debates over the Constitution, Gustafson explores how orators employed the shifting symbolism of speech and text to imbue their voices with power. |Sandra Gustafson examines the verbal art of speech in sacred, political and diplomatic forms as it was created and practiced in colonial America and the early republic. She demonstrates that, in the distinctly American interaction of cultures, contact and conflict among Europeans, native Americans, and Africans gave particular significance and complexity to the uses of the spoken word.

(Applause Acting Series). Widely recognized as the most complete and rigorous text of its kind since it was first published in 1942, Speak With Distinction is an invaluable resource. It presents a comprehensive study of the sounds of Spoken English in their most important phonetic environments. This most recent revision also adds much material for comparisons of speech sounds; suggestions for accurate, efficient and conversational ways of combining the sounds into connected utterance; indications that foster a working knowledge of two dialects of speech (General American and what Mrs. Skinner called Good Speech for classic and elevated texts); and beginning material to show application of the principles of Good Speech to well-written texts. Some important additions to the book are the extensive Glossary and Index, abundant guides to pronunciations, new sections featuring such details as the complete "Ask-List" of words, a program for the elimination of glottal attacks of vowel and dipthong sounds, greatly expanded practice material of phrases and sentences, and an updated Chart showing several levels of phonetic transcription and spelling equivalents in current usage. Speak With Distinction can be used in several ways: as a primary educational textbook for both the beginning and advanced actor; as a supplementary textbook for teachers and students who have their own methods and agenda for study; and as a reference book for teachers, speech coaches and directors.

Get 'em started and keep 'em going ? quick! Choose from the 75 hands-on activities in this book to:
* Raise the comfort level of your participants
* Jumpstart a training session
* Energize a presentation
* Stimulate group discussion The key word here is quick! While there are tons of books containing icebreakers and energizers, many of the activities are too involved for the limited time available. This book solves that problem
. "A great way to get your session off to an active start is by adding Energize Your Audience! to your bookshelf. Lorraine Ukens has that special knack of writing exercises that immediately capture and energize your audience. And, isn't that what you want in an icebreaker?"
-Steve Sugar, coauthor, Games That Teach Teams
"Energize your audience. Easy to say and hard to do. This is a great resource to help deliver your message by capturing participants' attention so you can be heard."
-Ed Rose, author, 50 Ways To Teach Your Learner and Presenting and Training with Magic
"Energize Your Audience! is a treasure trove of energizing, creative, and easy-to-facilitate activities. Guaranteed to delight, motivate, and engage any training group, this collection is a 'must-have' on every trainer's bookshelf." -Karen Lawson, CSP, Lawson Consulting Group, Inc.
All of these exercises are reproducible and can be easily facilitated in 15 minutes or less, leaving most of your valuable time to focus on the topic of the training session. Keep your participants alert and actively engaged in the learning process with the help of this invaluable resource!