Customer Reviews

Off the Cuff: What to Say at a Moment's Notice

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Perhaps the number one criterion for professional advancement is the ability to communicate.

Clearly, it is the third "C" in any relationship, following closely behind chemistry and compatibility. Much of what we say is spontaneous. To help readers build confidence for these moments author Anne Cooper Reader, a writer and communications coach, offers a checklist of "Cs" to muster their confidence.

Be:
* Concise - Audiences appreciate brevity.
* Conversational - Practice dropping your plugs naturally, without overdoing them.
* Careful - Sound bites take on a life of their own.
* Candid - Simple honesty is refreshing in today's world of spin.
* Cogent - Before you begin, decide what you want to accomplish. Then go for it.
* Convincing - To compel, your speech must make sense.
* Confident - Fake it if you have to. Be prepared and rise to the occasion.
* Clear - Logic makes the case.
* Compassionate
* Cool
* Calm
* Collected
* Compelling - Touch each audience member with your voice.
* Consistent - This is crucial.
* Credible
* Controversial - If it serves the greater purpose, use it.
* Charismatic

Anne Cooper Ready provides readers with strategies, tips and tactics to navigate the shoals when they are asked to give a few words and not given a lot of time to prepare.

Fear of public speaking still outpaces an individual's fear of death, but talking in public is a necessary requirement of any professional at sometime in their career especially when you consider that 99 percent of what people say at any given time is unprepared. Writer and communications coach Anne Cooper Ready provides useful tips and strategies in her book titled "Off the Cuff." Soundview recommends this read because it's an excellent guidebook that's designed to help the reader gather and convey their thoughts in a direct, yet motivating and entertaining matter when put on the spot. The author provides both the basic and advanced skills to help deliver an immediate, compelling statement with little advance notice. "Off the Cuff" is one of those rare books that it's better to have read and not need - as opposed to need and not read.

A really good guide to what to say in those stark moments when I usually bite my tongue.