How to Speak So People Really Listen is a great book if you want to improve your public speaking ability or communication with people in general. I found this book useful, as I am slightly shy when it comes to public speaking (as many others out there are), and found both the theoretical and practical side enlightening.
Paul McGee reveals three ‘R’s’:
- Reinforced: Reinforce your skills through repetition
- Reminder: Remind yourself of the different listening skills, even if you have heard them before
- Reveal: No matter how experienced you are, you can always gain fresh insights
With this framework of the ‘seven deadly sins’, Paul has provided an easy-to-read guide to help one overcome those undesirable nerves, while presenting ideas in the most effective way possible. Some include making the message memorable by being clear,
I have personally spent some time at Toastmasters, and found this book illustrated a lot of the tools I have learned through that group in a concise manner.
Quotes from the book
“We can all talk. The challange is getting someone to listen.”“Knowing the words to a song does not make you a great singer. Neither does having expertise in a subject make you a great speaker.”
“Criminals and politicians can manipulate minds because they’ve developed the skills of knowing how to presuade others. ”
“Good people with a great message are not gauranteed a captive audience.”
” We need to learn how to cover our message with Velcro, rather than coat it with Teflon”