| Title | : | I Have Something to Say: Mastering the Art of Public Speaking in an Age of Disconnection |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1400062101 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781400062102 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | Published August 11, 2020 |
The average American speaks 16,000 to 20,000 words every day. From the age of five through our late teens and beyond, our education system teaches us how to read and write. Why is it that we're never taught to speak?
In 2010, while interviewing hundreds of Americans about their experiences with love, award-winning journalist John Bowe unearthed the story of his cousin Bill, a recluse who lived in his parents' basement until the age of fifty-nine. After a lifetime of being the family oddball, Bill surprised everyone around him by breaking out of his isolation--and getting happily married. He credited his turnaround to a nonprofit club called Toastmasters, the world's largest organization devoted to teaching the art of public speaking.
Fascinated by the possibility that speech training could foster the kind of psychological well-being more commonly sought through expensive psychiatric treatment, and intrigued by the notion that words might serve as medicine, Bowe researched the discipline of public speaking back to the teachings of the Ancient Greeks, who invented the subject 2,300 years ago.
From the birth of democracy until two or three centuries ago, education meant reading and writing, as it does today; but it also meant learning how to speak and interact with others. Public speaking was, in fact, the most highly stressed of all liberal arts. Today, absent such education, 74% of Americans suffer from speech anxiety. As social scientists chart record levels of loneliness, social isolation, and political divisiveness, Bowe muses upon the power of speech education to mend a nation no longer skilled at speaking to itself.
Setting out to learn for himself what he'd gathered from so many others, Bowe discovers that learning to speak in public means more than simply overcoming nervousness while standing at a podium. Acquiring the basic, old-school artistic techniques for connecting with others bestows us with an enhanced sense of freedom, power, and belonging--while teaching us to give a decent speech. In an age of disconnect and fraying public discourse, anyone (well, almost anyone) can learn to become eloquent.
I Have Something to Say: Mastering the Art of Public Speaking in an Age of Disconnection Reviews
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No es un manual, colección de consejos ni mucho menos de auto-ayuda.
Es la historia de la curiosidad de un hombre por aprender el arte de la oratoria, su dedicación a investigar sus inicios e impacto actual en la sociedad; así como descubrir sus claves y recalcar su necesidad.
Tiene éxito al unirse a Toastmasters International, una ONG cuyo objetivo es promover la comunicación, el discurso público y el liderazgo. El autor nos lleva de la mano a través de todo el programa que debe completar por parte de la organización, que realmente no es necesario conocerla; se hace un gran trabajo explicándola y el foco es más que nada en el desarrollo personal del autor.
Me gustó mucho todas las experiencias y conocimiento que incluye: pasajes de las obras iniciales de la retórica, entrevistas con ex-miembros famosos, estudios y artículos científicos, historias increíbles de éxito y sobre todo, rompe ideas falsas acerca del tema y lo descompone; demostrando que puede ser aprendido por todxs. -
Both helpful and entertaining.
John Bowe draws on his own experiences to explain his points. A relatively short read, I recommend this to anyone who has anxiety over public speaking, and believe anyone who can benefit from the advice of this book.
I received an Advanced Review Copy through Goodreads giveaways. -
Super interesting book on the importance of public speaking and connecting with others.
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Overall, I thought the book was pretty good! I leaned a lot from it, and the anecdotes Bowe wrote were very realistic and engaging. The text taught me that public speaking is a skill that starts and end with your audience. I have found myself to be less nervous when I’m public speaking because of this book, which is a huge plus. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and recommend it to anyone that wants to become a better public speaker.
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A short little book that probably should have been an even shorter article. It’s fine. It’s about the author going to Toastmasters to get better at public speaking. I wanted more advice and tips that I could put in to practice for myself. There’s a very good appendix at the end that finally delivers just that, but I hate that I had to wait that long to get to it.
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I was disappointed by this book. I finished, not having had any concrete specific points to change. I was also distracted by the way the author describes the complexion or race identifier for everyone who is not white. Admittedly, this is common among American writers, but it still drives me crazy. I think this (annoying) style of writing distracted me from a full appreciation of this book. There were other comments made in the book that I found a bit off pudding. Overall, not a fan and disappointed.
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John Bowe does a great job demystifying public speaking. I appreciate that the overall message is that public speaking isn't some inborn ability, but rather, a set of techniques that any person can master. From prioritizing your audience when writing the speech to memorizing the intro and outro, it covers a variety of practical tips. I recommend people who are interested in public speaking to give this a read, as it does a great job explaining and providing actionable steps to improve and be better.
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In an age where soft skills are weak, Bowe pounces on it via his story as well as book. I don't wanna give anything away but if you have the fear of public speaking reads this. Public speaking will increase your net worth so to help get over the fright hear what Mr. Bowe has to say. His thoughts are genuine and he tells why and how to resolve.
Quick read and like all books, it was read on a plane. -
While this book is essentially a pitch for Toastmasters, I must say John does a great job of breaking down the structure and need for public speaking. It goes beyond that though, using the art of rhetoric to connect with an audience and persuade them as opposed to the seemingly diabolical attack speech we're seeing all around us today.
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Very cool book. I'd noticed that a lot of my friends were joining improv clubs (or were, before COVID). I think the reason why is related to what Bowe talks about: we need help learning to connect to each other in person and not just passively on social media.
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A light but entertaining introduction to the art of public speaking. certainly whets your appetite to delve into this important topic for society.
Recommended for reading while practicing during several months. -
As someone who has only recently joined Toastmasters, and about to give his 2nd speech in a couple of weeks, this made for a riveting read, allowing me to look into the future of what I have to look forward to, so long as I put myself out there and put in the work!
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Two takeaways: join Toastmasters and read the addendum about speech making. The writer could have done more with the stories of people changed by Toastmasters, a group dedicated to learning about speech making.
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Excellent book
I bought it because I was drawn to the story of this man's s cousin but I learned so so much more. I highly recommend this book. Excellent read!!! -
Mr. Bowe tells quite a tale about his Toastmasters experiences. I especially liked the part about encouraging people to talk to strangers. I once did a Toastmasters speech on that topic!
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Made me want to check out Toastmasters.
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Enough to read only appendix where it’s all summarized
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“If there was a single art form the mastery of which could make us wiser, more just, and more useful to our fellow citizens, it was public speaking.”
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This book is a good introduction to rhetoric. He repeats multiple times the main point of his book: when you give a speech, put your audience at the forefront of your mind, not yourself and not your ideas. He says this in multiple ways from multiple angles... so you better not miss it!
One glaring historical error takes place on pg. 146 where he talkes about the demise of rhetoric as a topic of study and blames, among other things, Christianity. Why? Because we insist 1. "the Bible is the only source of truth" (only true of one section of Christianity that didn't exist until the 16th century) and 2. "its tendency to disfavor the free flow of debate." Obviously Mr. Bowe has no idea about the history of medeival Christianity and is speaking about things he doesn't know. Rhetoric, as he pointed out, was common in education going into the beginning of the 20th century, so how can you blame the religion that had been around for 1850 years at that point? Sounds like Mr. Bowe is just spouting things without any real facts based on his own bias... something he warns about in his book! Physician, heal thyself!
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