Customer Reviews

Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln: 21 Powerful Secrets of History's Greatest Speakers

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I expected a lot from this book and was still pleasantly surprised. James C. Humes is a very experienced speechwriter and speaker that takes the time to tell you some great secrets of public speaking.

The book goes through every aspect of speaking from opening to closing and beyond. Each section has many great ideas to take from it. There was no chapter that I did not walk away from saying, "That was a great idea!" When he makes a recommendation, he backs it up with supporting facts and real stories that illustrate the point.

The book is also easy to read. The writing style is easy to read and is interesting. Humes seamlessly ties in stories from the great speakers of history to demonstrate his ideas. Many of the stories are humorous, but all are good. Humes is also very clear in his recommendations, which leaves little confusion on the reader's part.

I would recommend this to anyone interested in public speaking.

Each chapter of the book is divided into chapters that start with the word power. It's a power pause, or a power word. Excuse the overuse of the word, but the thoughts are very powerful for anyone wishing to improve their public speaking skills, writing skills, and presentation skills.

Brevity, the use of a quote, silence, eye-contact, the use of a meaningful statistic, humor, lessons, and more; nearly everything one needs to learn about the power of words is in this book.

One would think that a book like this is a guaranteed nighttime-read, one that is sure to induce sleep. On the contrary, this book has several interesting tidbits, historical facts, and quotes that are meaningful and entertaining.

This book is a tool; it is a great read that should be in public speaking classes across the nation.

This is an excellent book for speakers os any level who wish to make small yet noticeable improvements to their speaking performance. Churchill and Lincoln both mastered the skills necessary to be great speakers. The greatest secret that I took from this book is the power of the ..... PAUSE. To stand in front of a group of people saying nothing , with poise and confidence , is a skill the truly seperates great speakers from the rest.
I would recommend this book without hesitation.

James Humes rightly emphasizes the importance of being an efficient communicator for all avenues of life. Humes gives his audience 21 tips that he has identified through a meticulous examination of some memorable quotations attributed to famous politicians and writers. Speakers can stand out in front of a crowd or among a small group of people by applying these tips to their presentation. Why bore an audience by telling a lengthy joke at the beginning of a speech, inviting the audience to fall asleep though a windy talk and busy slides or ending a presentation on a flat note? Instead why not speak about a personal experience to which the audience can relate, energize a talk by the use of a memorable bon mot or end a talk on a strong note? No one needs to be one of the famous people quoted in this book to come up with a striking note that makes the difference between a boring speaker and a riveting one.

I would title this book, "The language of leadership". It's content is excellent and well organized. It teaches ways to speak and act like a leader and therefore command such authority through the power of the spoken word.

The chapter titles all begin with "Power", but the author practices what he preaches by getting across the information in a well organized and easy to get through manner. If you look at the highlights in each chapter and skim through, you get the jist of information, hence making it easy to comprehend in a day.

Every chapter has its content and then real life examples from the author's experience. The examples are both historic and contemporary, very useful, convincing & often interesting, although ocassionally unecessary to get the message accross.

The criticisms I've seen of this book are that it is patronizing or too long winded or redundant. I don't find any of these things to be true. I however admit, that instead of reading the book cover to cover and sentence by sentence, I read it as any executive would read a proposal or document - skim to get the highlights and then go back in for more detailed reference when needed. I got a great deal out of the book this way.

I purchased the book for a Dean of a Business school and a high power executive. While skimming through it, I found myself quite absorbed. Since then, I've found myself continually thinking back to what I read there and I ended up buying myself a copy for reference and one as a gift for the CEO of my company as well.

Makes a great gift for a Type A executive or anyone in a position of leadership of any kind. This isn't just a public speaking book, and it's not about overcoming shyness or a "Toastmasters" type thing. It's about how to make what you say be powerful and effective.

I had read the author's another book "The wit and wisdom of Winston Churchill". I expected this to be something very similar to that. I had been absolutely wrong. This book is dedicated to the enhancement of a speaker's ability to deliver a quality speech. It is eloquently written and well organised with elaboration of distinctive secrets or fundamental elements employed by great speakers (please refer to the content page here for a quick grasp).

I am sure that if I had read it years earlier, I would have saved myself from having spoken "dully" or even "foolishly" in various occasions, despite from hindsight. In short, a must read for anyone who wants to speak, impress and lead.

Below please find some of my favorite passages for your reference. Hope you like them.

Blair delivers a gravity defying performance of style over substance...a slick talk of accomplishments, not solid accomplishment itself. pg ix

Churchill once explained that praise in the beginning of a talk sounds like flattery, whereas the same praise wedged in the middle of the talk comes off as sincerity. pg 10

Churchill once said that a speech is like a symphony. It may have three movements but must have one dominant melody. pg 29

Oh Lord. We thank you for giving us minds and mouths. Please help us keep the two of them connected. pg 30

Good communication spells the difference between a leader and a manager. pg 45

JKF: "Our task is not to fix the blame for the past, but to fix the course for the future". Louis Pasteur: "Do not promote what you cant explain, simplify and prove early". Pg 51

Churchill would argue that an article should be written for the eye, but a speech for the ear. pg 116

For a strong ending, said Churchill, you have to appeal to the emotions - pride, hope, love, and occasionally, fear. pg 177

An unconditional display of courage can send an unusally strong message. pg 199

Red Auerbach used to teach his legendary Boston Celtics to stick to the fundamentals. This book is filled with help to make your speeches memorable. This book will add impact to your next talk whether in school, work or a one on one meeting. The author presumes a basic knowledge of speech construction. If you want help with that read Jack Valenti.

The author offers 200 pages organized around 21 principles of persuasive speaking. The principles cover a wide range of topics. The book includes many examples from historical speakers. This book was a joy to read and I have already shared it with others.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

Well written, short and to the point this book has served me well. I bought it for what my classmates considered a minor presentation. I learned no presentation has to be minor and impressed my classmates, professors and any other audience under any occasion or circumstance.

Unbelievable that no one taught me these principles years ago. This guy has been around a long time! Excellent, easy to read and incorporate.