An exceptional, comprehensive resource for any presenter.
A former attorney reveals trial lawyer techniques for improving public speaking.
One of the most challenging forms of presentation—arguing a case at trial in front of a jury—is the basis for this outstanding public speaking manual. Read, the author of Winning at Persuasion for Lawyers (2021), combines his own prior experience as a trial attorney with illustrative stories of other lawyers and orators to offer a soup-to-nuts guide to effective speaking. As “a big believer in the Rule of Three,” Read appropriately divides the book into three logical parts, addressing public speaking basics in Part 1, presentation delivery in Part 2, and great orators and attorneys in Part 3. The first two sections provide a wealth of speaking strategies and techniques that culminate in the third part, which pointedly demonstrates a mastery of the subject. The book begins by discussing the fear of public speaking, a common affliction that the author suggests “most textbooks fail to candidly address.” Read’s frank reflections on his own nervousness are likely to be relatable to many readers; he also talks about how professional athletes overcome fear, provides specific ways to allay it, and then details the “seven principles of public speaking.” For each of the seven, Read offers excellent examples, a number of which are augmented by links to videos of speeches that are available on the book’s website. Part 1 includes valuable guidance on storytelling; once again, Read outlines specific suggestions for weaving compelling stories, such as “deliver a bottom-line message,” “give your story a soul,” and “start strong with a lightning bolt.” Also in Part 1 is a stimulating discussion of psychological principles that affect audience perceptions and receptivity, such as confirmation bias, “the nudge theory,” and the use of counterthemes.
Part 2 is a detailed section on presentation delivery, delivering a wealth of information on the correct use of PowerPoint slides. The chapter on “how to never use notes again” may cause stomach flips in some readers, but it’s crucial, the author says, to making headway in one’s career. In addition, there’s valuable advice on such physical aspects as posture, hand gestures, and voice control as well as useful tips for practicing presentations. Part 3 is a treasure trove of examples, with descriptions of the stylistic qualities of orators including Aristotle, Winston Churchill, and Abraham Lincoln. Additional chapters delve into the expertise of two exceptional lawyers: Mark Lanier (who provided the book’s foreword) and Allyson Ho; particularly revealing are the graphics that Lanier used in a high-profile case involving company Johnson & Johnson and the highlights of an argument that Ho made before the U.S. Supreme Court. These chapters contain truly remarkable “insider” excerpts that are rarely seen outside of a courtroom. Each chapter in the book typically begins with a “Chapter Road Map,” is supplemented by suggested additional readings, and ends with a “Chapter Checklist.” The text is clear and straightforward, the book’s organization facilitates readability, and numerous examples further enhance the advice.
Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9798985115253
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Westway Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
IN THE NEWS
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