Simply Speaking: How to Communicate Your Ideas with Style, Substance, and Clarity - Hardcover

Noonan, Peggy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060392126 ISBN 13: 9780060392123

Publisher: Harper, 1998

Synopsis

Advice from Peggy Noonan:"The most moving thing in a speech is its logic. It's not the flowery words or flourishes, it's not the sentimental exhortations, it's never the faux poetry we're all subjected to these days. It's the logic behind your case. A good case well argued and well said is inherently moving. It shows respect for the brains of the listeners. There is an implicit compliment in it. It shows you're a serious person and understand that you are talking to other serious people.

No speech should last more than 20 minutes. Why? Because Ronald Reagan said so. Reagan used to say that no one wants to sit in an audience in respectful silence for longer than that, if that. He knew 20 minutes was more than enough time to say the biggest, most important thing in the world. The Gettysburg Address went five minutes, the Sermon on the Mount probably the same.

Some communications professionals will tell you there are specific gestures to use when you make a speech, particular ways to move your hands or use your voice. I do not think this counsel helpful. Be yourself in your presentation, because although there have already been Vince Lombardis and Dan Rathers and Jesse Jacksons, there has never been a you before. So you might as well be you and have a good time. Authenticity isn't just half the battle, it's a real achievement."

About this title

About the Author

Peggy Noonan is the best-selling author of seven books on American politics, history, and culture. Her essays have appeared in Time, Newsweek, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and other publications. She lives in New York City.

No speech should last more than 20 minutes. Why? Because Ronald Reagan said so. Reagan used to say that no one wants to sit in an audience in respectful silence for longer than that, if that. He knew 20 minutes was more than enough time to say the biggest, most important thing in the world. The Gettysburg Address went five minutes, the Sermon on the Mount probably the same.

Some communications professionals will tell you there are specific gestures to use when you make a speech, particular ways to move your hands or use your voice. I do not think this counsel helpful. Be yourself in your presentation, because although there have already been Vince Lombardis and Dan Rathers and Jesse Jacksons, there has never been a you before. So you might as well be you and have a good time. Authenticity isn't just half the battle, it's a real achievement."

Reviews

Noonan (What I Saw at the Revolution), George Bush's most publicized speechwriter, describes her book accurately as "advice and anecdotes about the writing and giving of speeches." Not political speeches, which are probably an art form unto themselves, but the kind of speeches most people are at some time called upon to deliver. Noonan states her advice clearly: No speech should last more than 20 minutes; the text should be written out (no ad-libbing from outlines); humor is essential; read your draft speech aloud (speaking is different from writing); keep sentences short (the audience is hearing it, not reading it). One section deals with the special requirements of writing for other people. Shorter sections deal with situations such as toasts, tributes and eulogies. There are also tips on handling questions, walking up to the platform and meeting the audience afterward. The anecdotes deal chiefly with Noonan's adventures on the political circuit and in the White House with Presidents Reagan and Bush and are the fluffy sort of things the author herself probably uses facing audiences. The advice is practical and fairly obvious, but if speaking in public is indeed most people's Number One Fear, this is a calming, logical and sometimes entertaining guide.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Drop your dislike of her politics (especially if you're a liberal Democrat). Ignore your instinct to treat this tome as yet another how-to approach to speechifying. Because Noonan, author of What I Saw at the Revolution and former speechwriter for Republican presidents, has bared her soul in an engaging and serious attempt to get all of us "speaking right and speaking simply." Sure, the book is disorganized--and there aren't any outlines or long lists. But what Noonan offers is solid advice, delivered simply. Speeches should last only 20 minutes. Write out your text. Use plain and simple language. Speeches must have content. And in exhorting her readers to do this or that, she inserts personal lessons she has learned, as well as examples from the greatest speakers, including Lincoln, Churchill, Reagan, and, yes, Earl Spencer at Diana's funeral. To read and reread . . . and remember. Barbara Jacobs

Noonan, author of the best-selling What I Saw at the Revolution (LJ 3/15/90), presents a guide to communication that succeeds because of the entertaining and informative anecdotes drawn from her experience as a speech writer for presidents Reagan and Bush. She provides good, basic, but not original advice?keep speeches to 20 minutes, use plain language, incorporate humor, and, most important, be sincere. The author includes insightful commentary on Earl Spencer's eulogy for his sister, Princess Diana; President Clinton's oratory, which she faults for its reliance on cliches and for its emphasis on style rather than substance; and President Reagan's skill at using speeches to connect with the public. Recommended for public libraries, especially as an overview of presidential speechmaking.?Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, Pa.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0060392126
• ISBN 13: 9780060392123
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224