Dale Carnegie

The Quick and Easy Way To Effective Speaking - Book Review

The Quick and Easy Way To Effective Speaking was written by Dale Carnegie and published by his widow back in 1962.

Let me start by saying that I have a very soft spot for Dale Carnegie. The reason is that I overcame my fear of public speaking at a Dale Carnegie Training evening class during the 1980's. As part of that course, we were each given a copy of this book.

So it was a big help to me then, and rereading it now I can see why. It's very clear, very practical, and very much based on Dale Carnegie's personal experience of teaching public speaking to thousands of people from 1912 onwards.

In Chapter 1 Dale Carnegie lays down what he saw as the four fundamental pieces of advice for those interested in developing their public speaking skills:

Suggestion 1 - Take heart from the experience of others - "There is no such animal, in or out of captivity, as a born public speaker."

Suggestion 2 - Keep your goal before you - "Concentrate your attention on what self-confidence and the ability to talk more effectively will mean to you."

Suggestion 3 - Predetermine your mind to success - "By changing our thoughts we can change our lives."

Suggestion 4 - Seize every opportunity to practice - "No one can learn to speak in public without speaking in public any more than a person can learn to swim without getting in the water."

The book is divided into 4 Parts, with a very useful bullet point summary at the end of each Part.

Part 1 - Fundamentals of effective speaking
Part 2 - Speech, speaker and sudience
Part 3 - The purpose of prepared and impromtu talks
Part 4 - The art of communicating
Part 5 - The challenge of effective speaking

If you are just starting as a public speaker you can't go wrong by reading this book. Also it's a very uplifting book for more experienced speakers who are seeking to improve.

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