Amazon.co.uk Review
What is the one thing President Clinton excels at? Banish all thoughts of Monica Lewinsky, you cynics. According to Dr Dominic Hughes and Benedict Phillips, the authors of this public speaking guide, he gives a darned good speech. Clinton's prime time TV confession that he did have a relationship with Monica is reprinted in their great historical speeches section.
You might not be facing impeachment but, if you are nervous about taking part in a debate or thanking your in-laws for a great wedding bash, this guide has all the information you need to stop your knees from knocking. In their first two sections, "The Basics" and "Building a Successful Speech", Hughes and Phillips guide their reader through the dos and don'ts of presentation (key words--confidence and audience respect) and offer advice on theme, structure, content and language use.
In the second two sections, "Presenting a Successful Speech" and "Specialist Skills", they take you through the physical process of delivering your speech, including organising a venue, using slides and video clips, managing television appearances and business meetings, not to mention dealing with that universal panic-inducer, the wedding speech.
As two highly-successful former Oxford Union debaters themselves, Hughes and Phillips are full of useful insider information, such as starting from your audience's "argumentative baseline--the point at which the audience no longer question the assertions that lie behind your argument". Then you're ready to carry them with you--one example of the sort of advantage you should have if you've read this book. --Amanda Cameron
Product Description
This guide to public speaking comes from an acknowledged lead-forum for debate, offering advice on speeches of every kind and to speakers of all levels (best man to business person). The authors have won national debating championships and were finalists at the '98 World Debating Championship.
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