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References7. Even though this book is nearly 10 years old, the fundamentals of a great speech haven't changed much over the years. Opportunity Knocks2. Closing
Get Personal12. Statistics13. Wisdom of the Ages11. Secrets of the Pros10.
Preparing to Write (one of the most valuable chapters)4. Say it Right9. Each chapter gives an example or two of great historical speeches and points out why the speech worked so well, and how to bring those attributes into your own speeches.Chapters include:1. Language8.
Beginning Well6. Before You Speak3. Outlining and Organizing5.
This book contains practical advise and useful insights from a seasoned writer, presented in an easy-going, personal, conversational style. If there is a more thorough, graceful, and genuinely useful guide to writing and giving speeches, In have not yet to read it. By the time civilisation flowered in Athens, oratory became the fine art of government and culture".
This easy-to-read, sometime rollicking how-to book not only explains basics-and very colorfully so-but also includes a number of the best speeches in history. Dowis instructs, entertains, and inspires tips on every phase of speech writing, concrete examples of ways to solve commonn problems, and quotations from great speeches. It reads like a one-to-one tutorial on public speaking.has something to benefit anyone who must speak in public.
Lewis Copeland wrote that in the ancient world the "more gifted speakers became the lawmakers and leaders. An essential companion for anyone who must prepare speeches. Digest this book and you will improve your public speaking skills dramatically.
I am a graduate of Dale Carnegie Course but not until I read Dowis' book did I come to fully understand the vital relationship between writer, delivery and mechanics. It is a very readable, interesting, and insightful book.
I knew little about speech writing before reading this book, and after reading it, I still know little. Perhaps I should have done more research, but I was hoping to read a book by someone that has written significant speeches and not just speeches that were read at business conventions or the local rotary club. based on the reviews, I was hoping for more. This book offers only obvious pieces of advice, and furthermore, the author doesn't seem to have the background to be considered an expert in the field.
5 categories of opening are: novelty, dramatic, question, humorous and reference/quote.2. When using statistics: make them interesting and meaningful, express statistics in terms your audience can understand, and avoid using too many raw figures in a row.5. Watch Your Language: Avoid Jargon and overly complex language. Most closings fall into seven categories: Summary, Wrap-up, Direct appeal, Thesis, Reference, Inspirational, and Humorous/Anecdotal.6. Then, to fit your purpose into the format and time allotted. Ultimately, what stays with an audience, is the content of your speech. Richard Dowis, a former journalist and retired senior vice president of Manning, Selvage, and Lee Public Relations provides information to help you effectively collect, organize and shape content into powerful speeches. When organizing your speech the most important consideration is that it must be logically organized.
Begin Well: Your opening should establish rapport with the audience, set the tone, reinforce your credibility and arouse interest in your subject. Closing the Speech: use your closing to reinforce your point, or to reinforce the goal of the speech. Be yourself.3. Editing: When editing consider content, organization, style, language and grammar. Anaphora: repeat words or phrases at the beginning of several sentences.4. He identifies several organizational strategies you can use. Use Proven Techniques: The Rule of Three: Organize related thoughts into groups of three to make them more memorable and dramatic. He urges you to consider first the purpose of your speech, what you really want the audience to walk away with.
Try instead for a simple elegance. He also provides the following guidance on writing your speech:1. You must begin by researching your topic, clarifying your purpose, creating an outline and identifying a strong thesis, or unifying idea. For example, Chronological order, the "Big Bang" where a shocking thesis is presented up front, and Cause-and-effect which outlines the causes of a problem, describes its effect and suggests a solution.
I highly recommend it. The author walks you step by step through the process of writing a speech to giving it, along with useful tricks of the speech writers trade. I originally checked this out at the library and realized I needed it in my reference collection. It's well writen, informative and fun to read.
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