Choosing Powerful Words: Eloquence That Works (Part of the Essence of Public Speaking Series) [Paperback]

Ronald H. Carpenter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0205271243 | ISBN-13: 978-0205271245 | Edition: 1

Under the influence of the media, it is easy to forget the tremendous impact of the speaker on an audience. Today's media enables speakers who once addressed hundreds in auditoriums to increase their public to millions through television. Dr. Carpenter's relevant research and careful scholarship about how to pick the best words and arrange them in the best orders will help the speaker become a stylist and slogan-maker whose sentences may become sound bites on the evening news or quoted in newspaper accounts the day after the speech has been made. This book prepares speakers to potentially change one little corner of the world - and perhaps the world itself -- through powerful words.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Discover the stylistic techniques behind influential speeches!

* Design speeches so that listeners anticipate key words
* Depart from the common idiom by using "rhetorical shorthand"
* Create credibility without a publicity advantage
Under the influence of the media, it is easy to forget the tremendous impact of the speaker on an audience. Today's media enables speakers who once addressed hundreds in auditoriums to increase their public to millions through television. Dr. Carpenter's relevant research and careful scholarship about how to pick the best words and arrange them in the best orders will help the speaker become a stylist and slogan-maker whose sentences may become sound bites on the evening news or quoted in newspaper accounts the day after the speech has been made. This book prepares speakers to potentially change one little corner of the world - and perhaps the world itself -- through powerful words.

Ronald H. Carpenter Ph.D. is Professor of English and Communication Studies at the University of Florida. A prolific and prize-winning scholar in rhetorical theory and the history of American public address, he is the author of the History As Rhetoric, other books on rhetoric of Douglas MacArthur, Father Charles E. Coughlin, and Frederic Jackson Turner, and numerous journal articles about the language of political discourse. Dr. Carpenter conducts his "Write Well - Write Now" training program for corporate executives, business groups, lawyers and judges, public relations professionals, incoming classes of officers at the U.S. Naval War College, and other people whose success and leadership depend upon persuasive communication.

About the Author

Ronald H. Carpenter Ph.D. is Professor of English and Communication Studies at the University of Florida. A prolific and prize-winning scholar in rhetorical theory and the history of American public address, he is the author of the History As Rhetoric, other books on rhetoric of Douglas MacArthur, Father Charles E. Coughlin, and Frederic Jackson Turner, and numerous journal articles about the language of political discourse. Dr. Carpenter conducts his "Write Well - Write Now" training program for corporate executives, business groups, lawyers and judges, public relations professionals, incoming classes of officers at the U.S. Naval War College, and other people whose success and leadership depend upon persuasive communication.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon; 1 edition (October 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205271243
• ISBN-13: 978-0205271245
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #360,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Ears Are In Ecstasy., September 25, 2000

By 

"ronlv" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Choosing Powerful Words: Eloquence That Works (Part of the Essence of Public Speaking Series) (Paperback)

Great Wine makers provide pleasure to the palate, but my ears are in ecstasy thanks to Carpenter. If you are like me I did not understand antitheses, metaphors, point and counterpoint. I just enjoyed these techniques in a great speaker. Now I know how to add these great tools to my speeches and communications. This book opened up areas of speech writing I did not know existed. Having written thousands of pages of business reports I can't go back and do it over, but within hours I was applying these excellent new tools.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, February 21, 2006

By 

N. Meyer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Choosing Powerful Words: Eloquence That Works (Part of the Essence of Public Speaking Series) (Paperback)

This is a great book. I purchased this book for Dr. Carpeneter's class at the University of Florida and I can attest that he knows his material. Whether you're using this book for simple toasts, business meetings, or public addresses, it will most certainly sharpen the stylistic content of your message.

4.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable Pointers for Potential Eloquence in Wordsmithing, December 29, 2011

By 

Richard R. Blake (Bridgman, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Choosing Powerful Words: Eloquence That Works (Part of the Essence of Public Speaking Series) (Paperback)

I am always looking for books dealing with words and how to better use them. A recent trip to our local library paid big dividends. I discovered Carpenter's book "Choosing Powerful Words." Although the book was first published in 1998, the pages are filled with "The Essence of Public Speaking" the title of the series highly recommended by Toastmaster's International. Relevant for today's writer/speaker.

The "finale" information in the appendix on "delivery" is all important and provides the key to eloquence in wordsmithing. Carpenter captures the basic principles of mastering rhetoric, antithesis, and metaphor.

"Choosing Powerful Words" whetted my appetite for the rest of the books in this series.