Khrushchev's Shoe: And Other Ways to Captivate an Audience of 1 to 1,000 [Paperback]

Roy Underhill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2002

During an impassioned address to the U.N. General Assembly, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, irritated by the indifference of his audience, astounded his peers by taking off his shoe and pounding it vigorously on the podium. His indelible gesture not only captured the attention of the audience, but it also transformed their lack of interest into outrage.In Khrushchev's Shoe, Roy Underhill recounts this incident and offers dozens of other stories to illustrate how our efforts to engage an audience can make or break a presentation. With pointers that show you how to bring the intimacy of small-group interaction to every event, Khrushchev's Shoe reveals the principles that make interaction both more meaningful and more enjoyable. Filled with wit and insight, this thoughtful guide will seize readers' interest from start to finish because it practices what it preaches--it engages the readers' intelligence and rewards it generously.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Roy Underhill has been host of the popular PBS series "The Woodright's Shop" for twenty years. The author of five previous books, he works as a communications consultant and conducts workshops and seminars throughout the country. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 16 and up
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; First Trade Paper Edition edition (June 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738206725
• ISBN-13: 978-0738206721
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #573,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Need to be engaging?, December 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Khrushchev's Shoe and Other Ways to Captivate an Audience of 1 to 1,000 (Hardcover)

Roy Underhill's "Krushchev's Shoe" is simply an excellent guide to becoming an engaging speaker, presenter, even writer. Through delightful personal anecdotes and voyages ranging from the nature of the creative process to voice spectograms illustrating the difference between a good speaker and a weak one, Underhill provides the reader with a brilliantly written, wise, and funny book about the nature of public presentation. The book is amply illustrated with woodcuts and sketches driving his points home. As a teacher I cannot stress how useful this book is. I have recommended it to a program designed to teach teachers how to teach (better). Many books of this nature are deadly to read--this one is great. His chapter called "The Morning After" alone is worth the price of the book.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Woodwright Speaks - And Audiences Listen, December 12, 2000

By 

"[e-mail]" (Dearborn, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Khrushchev's Shoe and Other Ways to Captivate an Audience of 1 to 1,000 (Hardcover)

Think of selling this show to network, even PBS, executives. One walks into the office and says, "I have a great idea for a TV how-to show where a guy goes out and cuts down a tree, then he teaches you to use traditional hand tools and make it into a replica of the chair in which Jefferson sat while he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Once you watch it, you can go out and do it yourself! Whaddya think?" One would have to expect as ungraceful an exit from the producer's office as the construction worker who found the singing frog in the classic Warner Bros. cartoon.

Well, that is exactly the show, The Woodwright's Shop, that Roy Underhill has been able to keep on television for more than 20 years. Of course, if most hobbyist woodworkers are going to watch a "how-to" show and make something presented by the host, they are more likely to follow Norm Abrams' measured drawings and run to Home Depot for the lastest tool to really make the sawdust fly. But, audiences watch Underhill's show not only for the extreme mastery he shows of his craft, but also his mastery of captivating an audience with a great storytelling approach.

This is the essence of Krushchev's Shoe. Roy Underhill takes what he has learned in demonstrating a craft totally foreign to modern audiences, both on his television show and at Colonial Williamsburg, and shares it with his readers so that we may become better communicators.

This book is helpful to anyone who dreads standing before a crowd and opening one's mouth. It is particularly helpful though to those of us who train others to be effective communicators. Museum professionals, theme park managers, teachers, etc, may all find some use in the suggestions Underhill makes in Krushchev's Shoe.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Khrushchev's Shoe by Roy Underhill, November 19, 2010

By 

Michael W. OBrien "Pathdoc60" (Valley Head, Alabama) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Khrushchev's Shoe: And Other Ways to Captivate an Audience of 1 to 1,000 (Paperback)

Very interesting change of pace book for Roy Underhill. No woodworking, but still packed with wit, wisdom and his entertaining style of writing which always captures the reader's attention.