It'S The Way You Say It

Success is often linked to the art of speech. Hone your skills!

The best, most direct way in which you convey your intelligence, expertise, professionalism and personality to other people is through talking to them. And fairly or not, people form judgments about you based not only on what you say but on how you say it. This is particularly true in business situations, where first impressions really count. You may have only a few minutes to interview for a job, pitch your services, describe your business plan or close a sale. It's the Way You Say It is a thorough, nuts-and-bolts guide to becoming aware and taking control of how you communicate with others.

Carol Fleming provides detailed advice and scores of exercises for understanding how others hear you and for dealing with specific speech problems like talking too fast, too high, too soft and so on. But she goes far beyond that to home in on the more subtle aspects of vocal communication. She shows how to vary your vocal patterns to make your speech more dynamic and compelling, use grammar and vocabulary to increase your clarity and impact and reinforce your message with nonverbal cues. An entire section of the book focuses on communication issues in the workplace interviews, presentations, voice mail and more. She puts a human face to advice through vivid before-and-after stories of forty men and women who came to her for help.