It's the Way You Say It: Becoming Articulate, Well-spoken, and Clear [Paperback]

Ph.D Carol A. Fleming (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2010 | ISBN-10: 1450215165 | ISBN-13: 978-1450215169

"No other skills will position you ahead of your competition as much as good speaking and presentation skills. No book approaches the depth and breadth of Dr. Carol Fleming's It's the Way You Say It." -Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE, Keynote Speaker, Executive Speech Coach Make Your Speaking More Impressive Refine your voice, words, and demeanor and speak your mind effectively. It's the Way You Say It offers: • Useful vocal self-evaluation tools • Valuable tips to solve specific voice problems • Expert advice on how to develop a dynamic voice • Advice on how to become verbally competent and fluent • Practical methods to become well-spoken • How to speak with comfort and confidence • Steps to become approachable and gracious • Professional guidance in conquering stage fright Speech consultant, Dr. Carol Fleming brings unique knowledge and skills to the speaking needs of individuals and corporate clients. She has leveraged her professional background and skills, a Ph.D. from Northwestern University and over thirty years of successfully helping clients to improve their communication skills, to write a book that will benefit the individual to refine their voice, words, and demeanor and speak their mind effectively. Dr. Fleming knows what is important to the adult learner and how to streamline the learning process.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"No other skills will position you ahead of your competition as much as good speaking and presentation skills. No book approaches the depth and breadth of Dr. Carol Fleming's It's the Way You Say It." -Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE, Keynote Speaker, Executive Speech Coach

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

About the Author

Dr. Carol Fleming is a speech consultant and author of two bestselling series, The Sound of Your Voice and The Serious Business of Small Talk. She specializes in vocal development and communication training. She works and lives in San Francisco and loves to read, garden, and sings with the San Francisco Choral Society.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (July 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1450215165
• ISBN-13: 978-1450215169
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Education & Reference > Words, Language & Grammar > Speech
  • #39 in Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Running Meetings & Presentations

More About the Author

"I help people understand the impression they make by the way they speak," says Carol Fleming (www.speechtraining.com). "I show them what they are doing that is just fine and where they could improve, if they want to." As simple as this may sound on the surface, the outcomes are multitudinous and varied. Carol's career as a personal communication coach is centered in San Francisco, but her audio series, The Sound of Your Voice, The Serious Business of Small Talk, and her book, It's the Way You Say It, have carried her work around the world. She regularly works with people on Skype and currently has clients in the Dominican Republic, Cyprus, and Boston: multitudinous and varied, indeed.

Carol enjoys singing with the San Francisco Choral Society and has been on the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Club of California for over twenty years. Her home is shared by two cats, Milly Piccadilly and Bill Bonney, and an aquarium full of South American cichlids.

Dr. Fleming earned her PhD from Northwestern University in the Department of Communication Disorders.

Photo: Grace Image Photography

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 94 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "What did you say?" The solution! January 11, 2011

By Joshua Uebergang

Format:Paperback

I've read and reviewed a lot of books that supposedly teach you how to improve your voice. It's the Way You Say It: Becoming Articulate, Well-spoken, and Clear is the best book so far for vocal improvement - especially in conversations.

I've struggled for 10 years to speak clearly, more smoothly, and have people hear me. Yes, I sucked. For nearly every sentence I spoke, the person I spoke to said "What?!" It makes you feel worthless. Not many books have helped.

Books like Change Your Voice : Change Your Life : A Quick, Simple Plan for Finding & Using Your Natural Dynamic Voice are good, though they lack many components of a good voice in conversation. Fleming in her book taught me not only how to develop a stronger, resonant, and attractive voice, but to carry into everyday speech in a way that charms people.

When you follow her advice, you'll develop friends more easily. Fleming discovered that people heard they "needed to be more confident" or "behave more like an adult" from bosses when in fact simple changes in their voice using her techniques produced these outcomes. We unconsciously judge someone by their voice. You'll notice this the next time you talk to someone with a clear voice, good tonality, and is empathetic.

As an exercise, notice how you feel the next time you find someone with these vocal qualities then compare it to someone with a suboptimal voice. We connect so much better to people with good vocals. That's the power of learning the methods in this book.

The later parts of the book contain tips on small talk and body language. The best parts in my opinion are in the first half, making it a must read.

I don't have a Barry White voice that makes women drop their jaw. Voice improvement takes a lot of practice according to Fleming, which is something "so simple" yet something I've never seen covered elsewhere. She gives you a behavioral-change plan needed to build a great voice. People aren't asking me "What?!" every time I open my mouth now and I more easily make friends.

Josh Uebergang aka "Tower of Power"

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Speech Pathologist's Review of this book March 30, 2011

By Victoria Squier

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is a must read for communication therapists/consultants and particularly for young speech pathologists looking at career opportunities. Universities who train therapists tend to overlook the people in the world who don't have moderate to severe "speech impediments".

There are many people who have been told that they are difficult to understand, hard to hear, or need to improve their communication skills. Some of them have heard their voices recorded and hate what they hear. They become self-conscious and they limit their opportunities to express themselves.

Carol Fleming has written this book to help this larger population of people who would like to have therapy for their weak, muffled, strained, and ineffective voices and manner of speaking. It's obvious that she's very experienced and has helped many people gain the confidence to speak up (and out).

Many of my clients will benefit from her more simplistic approach. They just want to feel and sound more impacful when they speak. I have put into practice many of her suggestions for myself. As a Speech Pathologist, I certainly should sound more clear, articulate, and committed to clients in every way possible.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you would improve your schtick November 16, 2010

By Jay Conner

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Full disclosure. I know Carol Fleming personally, and am vaguely familiar with her work. I've never been a client, but I knew she was in speech therapy.

Her book, however, is a revelation. What she does is so far beyond what you think of as speech therapy as to be a whole 'nother world, She acts like a Minister of Communication, in the religious, not the governmental sense of the word.

In this book she shows you how to present yourself, to show yourself off to best advantage.
Consider how you detail a car, or how you stage a house to best show it off.
She teaches you how to do this with yourself.

I always thought that that if I had something to say, all I had to do was to get the message clear and the technique would take care of itself. And I wasn't particularly critical about my natural, intuitive way of doing that presenting.

Dr. Fleming wants me to move that up a notch.

Her book is concise, direct and to the point, with lots of personal stories from her experience to make a lively reading experience. Tight, spare and engaging, with useful stories and clear instructions. You will also learn how a sentence with eleven consecutive instances of the word "had" can, in a proper context and properly punctuated, make a meaningful sentence. Page 63.

But that's not important, it's just diverting. Part of the funny side of the book.

The book has a more serious purpose, some real depth and the benefit of years of her experience in vocal development and communications training. Not everyone can trek out to San Francisco to engage her services, but everyone can benefit from her coaching in this book.

Even, especially, people who don't know they need her help

In a sense, this book is a conversation with an author who has keen insight into the human condition, and a willingness - eagerness - to share her knowledge. Enthusiasm for the human condition runs through her stories, which are case histories of problems in human communication.