Our Masters' Voices: The Language and Body-language of Politics

First published in 1984. For those who have heard Max Atkinson expounding his theses about the nature of stimulus and response for political speakers seeking applause, have their political lives transformed. They cannot go to a public meeting without listening for the anti­theses and the triads that, when properly delivered, guarantee applause and, in the right circumstances, television coverage. Oratory is an ancient art. Demosthenes, Cicero and Quintillian offered instruction in the art o...