It's Not What You Say, It's How You Say It: Ready-to-Use Advice for Presentations, Speeches, and Other Speaking Occasions, Large and Small - Softcover

Detz, Joan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312243057 ISBN 13: 9780312243050

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2000

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

Joan Detz, author of How to Write & Give a Speech, and It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It, coaches executives, offers media training, and teaches presentation skills workshops. The Joan Detz Speechwriting Seminars have trained speechwriters for The White House, prominent executives, university presidents, and top military leaders.

Reviews

For many people, speech giving is a nerve-wracking but necessary task, and this book provides proven tips, suggestions, and guidance to make the experience successful and to help readers develop confidence and skill for any public-speaking occasion. Detz focuses on preparation, organization, and delivery skills, also discussing the uses of technology, public speaking in unusual settings, dealing with interruptions, health and physical challenges, and evaluation. An appendix gives a useful bibliography of speakers' resources, mostly sources of quotations, professional public-speaking organizations, and web sites. Detz has authored four books on public speaking, most recently How To Write and Give a Speech, maintains a web site at www.joandetz.com, and works as a professional speech coach and motivational speaker. This book is recommended for public libraries and corporate libraries, but those owning another book by Detz or any solid book on public speaking can pass.DDenise S. Sticha, Seton Hill Coll., Greensburg, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

It's Not What You Say, It's How You Say It (Chapter 1)

THE TITLE OF THIS BOOK reads It's Not What You Say, It's How You Say It. But I have a confession: That might be a slight exaggeration. Because "what you say" does matter...it just doesn't tell the whole story.

Let me explain.

Maybe you have to run a community fund-raiser, or meet face-to-face with a sales prospect, or handle a tough job interview. Maybe you have to give a short presentation to a few colleagues at a department meeting, or give a big speech at a professional conference.

Whether you're talking to one person or a thousand, you certainly need a message. And that message must be targeted to your listeners' needs.

Before you decide "what to say," ask yourself these important questions:

(1) What do they want to hear from me?

(2) What do they need to hear from me?
(Pamela Harriman, former U.S. ambassador to France, once defined leadership as "the ability to tell people not what they want to hear, but what they need to know.")

(3) What do they already know about this topic--and where did they get their information?

(4) What misconceptions do they have?

(5) What problems do they face--and how did those problems develop?

(6) What solutions have they already tried?

(7) What message would be most comfortable?

(8) What message would be most troubling?

(9) What information could save them money?

(10) What information could save them time?

(11) What changes would I suggest they make?

(12) What recommendations could they put into practice most easily?

(13) What advice would be welcome?

(14) What advice would be resented?

(15) What perspective can I bring to their unique situation?

(16) And, perhaps the most important question: What can I say to them that no one else could say as effectively?

Once you ask yourself these basic questions, you should have a pretty good idea of what to say. And that's important, because you certainly need a message.

But good presentations demand more than a message. And that's why this chapter--the "content" chapter--is the shortest in the whole book. As you will soon see, good communication isn't just "what you say," it's how you say it.

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312243057
• ISBN 13: 9780312243050
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192