April 27, 2010

The Gettysburg Approach to Writing & Speaking like a Professional by Philip Yaffe

In other reviews of Writing and Speaking like a Professional, one reviewer enthused, “This book is really fun to read.” I have to disagree. If Tomorrow Comes, The Girls from Ames - those books are fun to read. I would describe this book was informational, well-written, and helpful but not fun or anything close to it. I did read it quickly and was intrigued by the ideas, but I think a lot of that comes from being an English major and doing a lot of writing on a daily basis.

For me the best part of this book wasn't about the writing, it was about the public speaking. I've read quite a few books on writing and really have yet to see something that I haven't heard before. Every book says it a little different, but it's all similar. Do I use what I've read? Not so much. The difference between this book and other writing books was that this book married writing and public speaking/giving presentations in a way I haven't seen it before. It used the same prescription (with just a few little tweaks) for writing that it did for public speaking, and I plan to use the ideas written out in the book for my next presentation.

My recommendation? Read this book if you do any writing or public speaking in any form. The advice is sound and will work for really any environment. If you've read many books on writing, don't expect a lot of brand new material but read it so you can learn how becoming a better writer helps you become a better speaker as well. 4 stars.

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