Give Your Speech, Change the World: How To Move Your Audience to Action [Paperback]

Nick Morgan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2005 | ISBN-10: 1591397146 | ISBN-13: 978-1591397144 | Edition: 1

This work takes public speaking to a higher level with a new audience-centered approach that combines aspects of ancient Greek rhetorical practice with proven modern-day communication techniques. It fills a gap in this market with a more sophisticated treatment of public speaking. Most books in this genre are gimmicky, 'tips & tricks' books. Morgan's offers both a more historical treatment of public speaking alongside practical guidelines. 'Kinesthetic' speaking involves actively 'listening' to your audience with your whole body, and is the element of public speaking that moves audiences to action. This book teaches managers of all levels how to successfully use this type of public speaking to engage audiences of any size, intellectually, emotionally, as well as physically.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This useful guide to modern public speaking in business situations begins (as did public speaking) with the ancient Greeks. It's an auspicious start: the Greeks' influence lasted into the 20th century, even after television made our relationship with most of the speakers we hear far more intimate. Morgan, the founder of a communications coaching company, proposes what he calls "the audience-centered presentation process," in which the speaker listens to that audience-two-way communication, in other words. Morgan breaks down the generation of such a presentation into a series of steps, with guidelines and methods for overcoming phobias (he is adamant that his readers conduct the most intensive rehearsals possible, including at least one in the actual presentation site). He also warns against Q & A sessions (particularly for the media), lame and irrelevant jokes, and videoconferencing, and seems to loathe Power Point. While he speaks of "kinesthetics"-"being aware of the position and movement of the body in space"-he generally avoids polysyllables and never pushes fancy-sounding concepts as magic wands. This is a clear, engaging guide any socially and verbally competent person can benefit from, and not only those readers speaking to the business world.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Nick Morgan is a seasoned communication consultant, former editor of the Harvard Management Communication Letter, and the founder of Public Words, a communications coaching company. The book is based on over 20 years of experience as a speech writer and consultant and Morgan practices kinesthetic speaking himself.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press; 1 edition (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591397146
• ISBN-13: 978-1591397144
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Nick Morgan is one of America's top communication theorists and coaches. A passionate teacher, he is committed to helping people find clarity in their thinking and ideas - and then delivering them with panache. He has been commissioned by Fortune 50 companies to write for many CEOs and presidents. He has coached people to give Congressional testimony, to appear on the Today Show, and to take on the investment community. He has worked widely with political and educational leaders. And he has himself spoken, led conferences, and moderated panels at venues around the world.

Nick's methods, which are well known for challenging conventional thinking, have been published worldwide. His acclaimed book on public speaking, Working the Room: How to Move People to Action through Audience-Centered Speaking, was published by Harvard in 2003 and reprinted in paperback in 2005 as Give Your Speech, Change the World: How to Move Your Audience to Action. His book on authentic communications, Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma, was published by Jossey-Bass in January 2009. His new book on communications and brain science, Mastery, will be published by Harvard in 2013. He has written hundreds of articles for local and national publications.

Nick served as editor of the Harvard Management Communication Letter from 1998 - 2003. He is a former Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. After earning his PhD. in literature and rhetoric, Nick spent a number of years teaching Shakespeare and Public Speaking at the University of Virginia, Lehigh University, and Princeton University. He first started writing speeches for Virginia Governor Charles S. Robb and went on to found his own communications consulting organization, Public Words, in 1997.

Nick attributes his success to his honest and direct approach that challenges even the most confident orators to rethink how they communicate.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This is about giving speeches May 8, 2008

By Tom Carpenter VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The concept of giving a speech is very different from the more general concept of public speaking. For example, a trainer who teaches a class for five days is a public speaker; however, she is not really giving a speech. A speech is shorter in nature and very focused. One might argue that a training class is just a collection of speeches, but this is untrue. The public speaker - acting as a trainer - must involve the audience more so that they really learn and retain the information. The public speaker - acting as an orator or speech giver - does not have the same demands placed upon him.

Why all this discussion of speech versus training? Because this book seems to indicate that it is about public speaking (the back cover says, "There are several universal truths about public speaking") in general, but it is really about giving a speech. I point this out because the research shows that many recommendations in the book are completely wrong when applied to training though they are correct when applied to speeches.

For example, recommending that you do not use slides (I won't say PowerPoint because there are many presentation tools used for delivering slides) is a great suggestion for a speech but a horrible recommendation for training. Visual aids are absolutely and scientifically proven to improve the learning process in a training event. Slides should definitely be used to represent processes, show technical concepts and so on in a training class. The question is this: are you going to get extremely technical in a speech? It's doubtful; however, if you are, you should probably use handouts with the speech.

This is why I gave the book four stars. I think it's one of the best books I've read on giving speeches; however, it is not the best book on the more general topic of public speaking - which includes training. The back cover should be clearer about the focus of the book. Believe the cover and not the description is the best advice.

In fairness though, there aren't a lot of good books about public speaking in general that give the right advice for the varied types of presentaitons. You usually do need to get a book on the specialized mode of presentation in which you'll be involed. This book is an excellent one for giving speeches.

I'd recommend Beyond Bullet Points as another excellent book that shows how slids can be effectively used in a speech and Life is a Series of Presentations for a general resource on public speaking.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Turbo Charging Your Presetation Skills July 11, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Finally, a truly great book concerning the art/craft of public speaking. If you heard advice like "picture the audience in their underwear", then you owe it to yourself to read "Working the Room". In this insightful and eminently useful text, Nick Morgan explodes the myths of bad speech-making and crafts a better mousetrap.

Morgan's central theme is that the the only reason to give a speeach is to "change the world". According to the author, a speech is not a collection of information rather it is a forum to showcase the unique passion of the speaker to sway hearts and minds in the audience. Morgan takes the reader through a thorough process of crafting a speech, rehearsing it, and rendering it to an audience in an entirely new and effective way. I guarantee that you will never think of giving a presentation the same way again. Hint: It has nothing to do with the quality of your PowerPoint.

Morgan's style is first rate. Filled with useful insights and stories, the book is lazer precise, witty, and absolutely right on time. No fuzzy thinking here. Just solid advice from a unique perspective. It's also an excellent length. It isn't too short and at the end, like many great reads, it leaves you wanting more!

If you are a person who presents on a regular basis or even if you are a neophyte looking to hone your speaking skills, there is only one book to buy and that's "Working the Room."

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, practical, proven principles on public speaking April 5, 2003

By John Baldoni

Format:Hardcover

Nick Morgan nails it. No one working with people can achieve much of anything without the ability to communicate effectively. "Working the Room" is an artful blend of theory and story that shows how to develop a message and deliver it. Very useful are the analyses of speeches and speaking styles of great orators from the past as well as contemporary sources. These historical references give context to how the nature of the stand?up presentation has changed from podium oratory to up?close and personal relationships via the media. According to Morgan, speakers need to connect with their audiences "kinesthetically" a blend of word, action and commitment. "Working the Room" contains solid advice on developing the speech, choreographing the speech, and rehearsing the presentation to get everything just right. And unlike many other books on this topic, Morgan addresses the need to listen to the audience and react accordingly in order to connect with impact and meaning. Morgan begins Working the Room with a quote from a speechwriter who postulated the only reason to give a speech was to "change the world." There is no better advice to give to any speaker in any environment. For anyone who cares about the power of the spoken word, either as speaker or writer, this book is a must?read and a must?have. I heartily recommend "Working the Room."