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Category: Education

Review: Developing Your Presentation Skills by Theo Theobald

[ 1 ] April 4, 2012

Reviewed by Poppy Johnson

Everyone will need to make a presentation at some time in their lives. Whether it is a formal business speech or an informal toast at a friend’s wedding, knowing how to make a speech is a valuable skill to have in any situation.

Develop Your Presentation Skills by Theo Theobald is part of the Creating Success series. The chapters cover the development of topics, the use of humor and tools like PowerPoint, as well as offering templates and content for a speech, and tips for managing your nervousness and the audience (including question and answer sessions, and when those question should be allowed to be asked). There are helpful activities for the reader to try, and summaries of what to do for each stage of developing a presentation. These tips apply to most formal professional presentations made in the context of a work scenario, but the strategies would also apply to any situation where speaking in public is required.

In the chapter on finding your inner voice, Theobald focuses on a research study (the Mehrabian study) which showed that over half of the speaker’s ability to impact an audience is derived from her non-verbal cues or body language. This means that your voice as well as your action needs to portray a confident spirit. How do people become confident when required to speak in public? Pre-recording your voice and making preparations ahead of time are the two obvious stand-bys to answer the confidence question. In that respect, much of the advice given in the book is standard fare for anyone interested in finding out how to speak in public or prepare the next speech.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

After a decade of working in several NYC law departments and teaching, Poppy decided she enjoyed writing full-time. She currently works as a freelance writing consultant, and lives with her husband and sons on the East Coast.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Kogan Page. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Does a Bear Sh*t in the Woods by Caroline Taggart

[ 11 ] October 29, 2011

Reviewed by Jill Elizabeth

Today’s book review is a cute little trip through the garden of rhetoric.

The book for today is Does a Bear Sh*t in the Woods? by Caroline Taggart. Well, does it? Who knows really – probably hunters, loggers, and zoologists. Oh yeah, and apparently Taggart, the author of this goofy little book about the answers to rhetorical questions.

Rhetorical questions, for those of you who are out of the intellectual loop, are questions that are asked – usually for dramatic oratorical effect or emphasis – for which no answer is expected. (This is my definition, not anyone else’s, hence the lack of attribution.) I love rhetorical questions – I rather love words, as I’ve pointed out before, and I think rhetoric is a fabulous way to play with language.

The book is an aggregation of a series of rhetorical questions from literature, music, and popular culture, with answers provided. Some of the answers are clever and designed to amuse, some contain actual information, and some are just plain silly. It’s a fun little book that will teach you a few fun little facts to trot out at cocktail parties or whenever else you might need small talk.

There is no author biography provided, but Taggart appears to be British from some of her linguistic choices, and the book is deliciously snarky a few times. I wish it had been snarkier, frankly – snark being one of my favorite components of any book that falls within the “trivia/humor” book category. It was a little too light and fluffy at times for my taste; I could have used less of the “well, that’s really up to the speaker to decide” type of answers (admittedly applicable to more than a few rhetorical questions, but neither particularly informative nor entertaining in a book intended to be humorous) and of the references to pop music and more of the historical/literary references with actual facts and information to explain their origins and meanings.

But that may just be me.

Does a Bear Sh*t in the Woods? was cute though, and the premise was a clever and kitschy one – and I do enjoy clever and kitschy. Don’t expect to walk away with a profound understanding of the meaning of life, but you can expect to walk away with a grin and having giggled more than once. And really, isn’t that what humor/trivia is about?

Rating: 3/5

A former corporate attorney and government relations/health policy executive, Jill-Elizabeth walked away from that world (well, skipped actually) and toward a more literary life (equally challenging, but infinitely more enjoyable). If you enjoyed this review, please visit her at Jill-Elizabeth.com, the official home of All Things Jill-Elizabeth – that is, all of the teehees, musings, rants, book reviews, writing exercises, and witticisms of her burgeoning writing career.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Plume. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Blog Tour & Giveaway: You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney

[ 93 ] October 18, 2011

Please join David McRaney, author of You Are Not So Smart, as he tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours!

Reviewed by Shannon Hopkins

Do you remember that time, a few years ago, when you were at that place with a bunch of people and you did that awesome thing that everybody thought was the coolest thing ever? Of course you do; that’s why you tell the story every time you get the chance. Except during one telling, your best friend reminds you that she was the one who did the awesome thing, she was the one everybody thought was cool, and you actually weren’t there at all…

You’re so pleased at the day’s social networking: you officially have 1,000 Facebook friends! Clearly you are blessed with a widespread and far-flung network of close compatriots…except you only meaningfully interact with about 150 of them.

These observations are just an example of David McRaney’s arguments in You Are Not So Smart, a 48-chapter treatise on the mental processes that have us fooled into thinking that we are smarter, more intuitive, nicer and calmer and more important to the general public than we really are. He discusses the idea of confabulation (chapter 2), the brain’s practice of filling in gaps in memory and information with other information to form a seamless pattern of detail, which alters our memories and leads us to create entirely fabricated explanations for our inexplicable actions; the truth about procrastination (chapter 6), which is not that we are poor time managers but that we are poor controllers of impulse; and the third person effect, which makes us all think that we are far less susceptible to persuasion and influence than the others around us.

McRaney consults news stories, psychological studies, and prior works such as Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink to develop each concept. You Are Not So Smart is divided into concise chapters designed either for a straight read-through or for the browser who is interested in one or two particular phenomena. While his premise is not purely original, McRaney’s straightforward, no-nonsense writing style is amusing and encourages the reader to stop and think about how our brains have us tricked in everyday situations. This is a quick, great read for anybody who is smart enough to realize that we are really not so smart.

Rating: 4.5/5

Shannon lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her fianc é and a room full of books that she peruses when she isn’t trolling Apartment Therapy for new decorating ideas. In her free time she enjoys maintaining her blog, The Writer’s Closet, planning her wedding, and baking tasty gluten-free treats.

Giveaway:
I have 1 copy of You Are Not So Smart to give away!

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This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on October 30, 2011.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Gotham. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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