Customer Reviews

The Articulate Executive: Learn to Look, Act, and Sound Like a Leader

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is exclusively about giving presentations and public speaking. I was mislead by the title, thinking it would be about communication in general for executives. The author lost a fair amount of his credibility with me at the beginning of chapter 2 when he listed his 4 exemplary executives, including John Scully who "built Apple into a world power that challenged IBM." Scully? Dude, check your facts. This book was written in '95 before the great divide of the high tech revolution, and there are plenty of dated ideas, including quaint advice on how to dress (Alan Flusser needn't worry about his job) and a lot of obviously pre-Powerpoint info about slides and overhead projectors. Could use an updated edition.

All-in-all, it's pretty good, but not great. It presents some thought-provoking ideas, especially about how to present with slides but keep the focus of the presentation on you, not the slides. However, there is a fair amount of trite junk to wade through to get to the valuable ideas. Good as source material if you pick and choose ideas, but definitely not the final authority on how to do presentations.

The key to success, I believe lies in effective personal communication.

In a world that increasingly relies on technology to respond to other human beings, a personal response results in results - deals are made; red tape is cut; decisions are made. Yet we live in a world where the ability to communicate personally with each other seems to be on the decline.

Granville Toogood has written one of the best books on the subject I have ever read. The Articulate Executive should be required reading for every business student, project manager, teacher and politician. By taking the time to adhere to his simple P. O. W. E. R. formula, leaders would see their effectiveness soar.

P. Power - Start Strong.
O. One Theme.
W. Windows to illustrate your theme.
E. Ear - Your presentation should be conversational.
R. Retention - End your presentation with a call to action.

If you plan to be successful, then public speaking is something you cannot avoid. If you plan to speak, do your audience a favor and spend some time with this book. Your career and your audience will be grateful.

The Articulate Executive is the best reference I've seen on the art of public speaking. I use this text as the principal reference for a corporate university course called "Business Speechcraft." Many fellow Toastmasters have referred this book to me. You can enthusiastically place my name along side theirs as a fan of Mr. Toogood. His advise for speakers regarding the use of view-graphs and overheads is right on the mark. His technique for organizing a speech ... the POWER formula ... will help your presentations successfully blast off and land in the collective memories of your audience. This is a "must read" book and a "best value purchase" for anyone who wants to become a leader in their field.

Similar to most of the reviews of the book the strong points include helping a person form effective communication with others. It has a nice foundation for people who are new to public speaking, and a reminder for those who have been doing it for a while.

However, the book is just plain dated. There must be a new book from another author that we could steer people towards. The business and professional world has changed in the 11 years since the book was released. The pace of conversation, the use of technology to communicate, etc.

I must agree with another reviewer who noted that the book did little to address Executive status or sounding like a Leader, as the title infers.

Sorry, I know it takes a lot to create a book for others to read, but this particular one just does not deliver.

This book is extremely readable and matter-of-fact in its delivery of the three critical aspects of communication:

1) The Speaking Game
2) Organization, Writing and Presentation
3) Delivery

As someone who has been invited to speak at conferences and to deliver senior executive level briefs, I can attest to the usefulness of much of what was written. Further, the graphics and diagrams within the text add another demension to the book, enabling the reader to gain a more right-brain understanding of the author's points

That said, I think that had the book contained some examples of real speeches in their entirety, it would transcend the realm of very good books, into that of truly superb ones.

Overall however, I would certainly recommend this piece for one's professional development library or as a gift to any professional motivated towards excellence.

I would suggest reading this book in conjunction with a guidebook to Powerpoint Presentations if the reader is not well-experienced in creating presentation his/herself.

In any case, I hope you are made a more effective corporate communicator because of these pointers!

Granville Toogood's "The Articulate Executive" is a quite excellent introduction to public speaking in a variety of forms. Toogood is an accomplished communications consultant and has distilled his advice into a very readable book that will help almost anyone improve not just their communication style, but also their impact.

Toogood covers all the bases, from basic public speaking, to presentation, to handling the media. His POWER formula offers a simplified approach to effective speaking that's approachable by all of us. He offers real-world advice - such as time your speeches to be no longer than 18 minutes - that is often missing from other books.

Most importantly, his book is easily readable. It features short chapters with a lot of punch. And although some chapters build on contents of previous ones, it's easy to read the book a chapter at a time, or even find just the chapter the deals with the topic you need. While written for the beginning communicator, most non-professional speakers will find a lot of value in this work. It was an excellent book, and I highly recommend it.

An excellent toolbox, particularly for technical people who find themselves in high level business meetings/environments. Clear, bulleted summaries aid memory retention. Stresses communications skills above all. Excellent work.

Use the POWER formula and overcome a formidable obstacle to personal success. This book is jamb packed with practical methods to overcoming a fear of speaking in public, at work and even socially. Toogood uses numerous examples to assist the reader in modifying not only the way public speaking should be approached but also in the mechanics necessary to reach and hold an audience's attention. Two Thumbs Up!

IF you need to give a speech next week and find no time to learn all the important presentation techique, do try this books! Short but punchy, it touches on almost eveyr aspect on presentation, from writing to delivering, from fear control to the secret of 8 second drill. Highly recommended

Powerful communication is the result of identifying what your audience really wants and the effective execution of a well structured presentation. I've read a lot of books on communication such as Dale Carnegie's 'How to Develop Self-Confidence & Influence People by Public Speaking', Peter Urs Bender's 'Secrets of Power Presentations',Dorothy Leeds's 'PowerSpeak', but this one provides the best foundation. Check it out if you can!