STAND UP, SPEAK UP, OR SHUT UP: A Practical Guide to Public Speaking

Ignore the aggressive 1980s title: the businesslike subtitle better reflects the nature of this quite conservative book on selecting, writing, and delivering speeches. The speeches themselves are divided along four traditional lines: informative, persuasive, inspirational, and entertaining. Some of the proffered topics hark back to high school days: ""Let's Make America Great Again"" or ""The Good and the Bad of Jogging."" On the topic of delivery--the dread of novices--Wilbur sensibly recommends ""natural"" gestures, the use of sincerity and emotional appeal, and an extemporaneous mode of presentation: outline the speech in your head, put a few key phrases on index cards, make up the rest as you go along. This has the advantage--which completely memorizing a speech has too--of allowing you to maintain eye contact with your audience. The writing of the speech is also reduced to basics: a ""purpose"" sentence, an outline, introduction, middle, and conclusion. Throughout, Wilbur excerpts from famous speeches--JFK, MacArthur--to make his point. (Billy Graham crops up again and again--Wilbur is clearly attuned to his high-power style.) Some of this is good, some less good, some irrelevant (e.g., the story of Helen Keller's life); but the rudiments are all set forth for the shakiest amateur.