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

by Joan Detz

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312243050
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/12/2000
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

Joan Detz is the author of How to Write & Give a Speech and Can You Say a Few Words?. A professional speech coach, she advises prominent executives across the country and conducts communications seminars for major corporations. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

The title of this book reads It's Not What You Say, It'sHow You Say It. But I have a confession: That might be aslight 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, ormeet face-to-face with a sales prospect, or handle a toughjob interview. Maybe you have to give a short presentationto a few colleagues at a department meeting, or give a bigspeech at a professional conference.

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

    Before you decide "what to say," ask yourself theseimportant 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 mostcomfortable?

(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 shouldhave 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—isthe shortest in the whole book. As you will soon see, goodcommunication isn't just "what you say," it's how yousay it.

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Excerpted from IT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S HOW YOU SAY IT by Joan Detz. Copyright © 2000 by Joan Detz. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	xiii
PREFACE	xv
SECTION ONE What You Say	1
SECTION TWO How You Say It	5
Choose Your Best Communication Option	7
How Long Should You Talk?	10
How to Organize Your Message	14
How to Do Terrific Research	20
How to Use Storytelling Techniques	29
How to Improve Your Speechwriting Skills	31
How to Improve Your Delivery Skills	36
Ad-libs
• Applause
• Audiovisual Support
• Body Language
• Clothing
• Coughing
• Emotions
• Eye Contact
• Forgetting Lines
• Handouts
• Hecklers
• Interruptions
• Microphones
• Misspeaking
• Notes and Manuscripts
• Nervousness
• Pauses
• Proofreading
• Props
• Rehearsals
• Voice
Using Humor	101
SECTION THREE When You Say It	105
Timing Is Everything	107
Impromptu Speaking	116
AwkwardTiming	117
Frequency	117
When You Must Deal with Resistance	118
When It's Better to Wait	118
When You Have to Say "No"	119
When You Have to Say "I'm Sorry"	121
Procrastination	123
SECTION FOUR Where You Say It	125
Choosing the Best Location	127
The Hometown Advantage	128
Make the Most of Your Location	129
Bad Locations	131
Technical Glitches	132
Speaking Outdoors	134
Out-of-Town Problems	135
SECTION FIVE Who Says It, and Who Is Listening?	139
The Right Speaker for the Right Message	141
Who Says It?	141
Who Is Listening?	144
Interpreting the Agenda	153
SECTION SIX Who Else Could Say It for You?	157
Substitute Speakers	159
Choosing the Right Person to Introduce You	162
Working with Other Speakers	163
Panels	163
SECTION SEVEN Was Your Speech a Success?	167
"I Could Have Been a Better Communicator if Only
	"	169
Identify Your Speaking Personality	170
Assess Your Speaking Style	171
What Are You Doing to Become a Better Speaker?	173
Manage Negative Emotions	174
Identify Your Own Strengths	175
Build on Your Strengths	179
Identify People Who Can Help You Improve as a Speaker	180
Measure Your Effectiveness	181
Get an Audience Evaluation	182
Learning from Other Speakers	185
Learning from a Professional Coach	186
SECTION EIGHT Appendix—Useful Books, Websites, and
Professional Organizations	191
Useful Books	193
Useful Professional Organizations	215
Useful Websites for Speakers	215
INDEX	219

Editorial 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.--Denise S. Sticha, Seton Hill Coll., Greensburg, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

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