Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
by Anne Lamott
from Anchor
Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Think you've got a book inside of you? Anne Lamott isn't afraid to help you let it out. She'll help you find your passion and your voice, beginning from the first really crummy draft to the peculiar letdown of publication. Readers will be reminded of the energizing books of writer Natalie Goldberg and will be seduced by Lamott's witty take on the reality of a writer's life, which has little to do with literary parties and a lot to do with jealousy, writer's block and going for broke with each paragraph. Marvelously wise and best of all, great reading.
American Accent Training (Book and Audio CD, 2nd Edition)
by Ann Cook
from Barron's Educational Series
The second edition of the highly acclaimed American Accent Training, now on 5 audio CDs, is for foreign-born students and business people working, traveling or studying in the United States and Canada. Through extensive intonation and pronunciation exercises, students learn how to speak with a standard American Accent. At the same time, listening comprehension improves dramatically. Supplementary materials included detailed nationality guides for eight languages (Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Spanish, French, German, Russian and Korean), access to a comprehensive website, and referral to a qualified telephone analyst for an individual diagnostic speech analysis. Also included are colored markers for written exercises, and a mirror to practice accurate pronunciation.
The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking
by Dale Carnegie
from Pocket
Conversationally Speaking : Tested New Ways to Increase Your Personal and Social Effectiveness
by Alan Garner
from McGraw-Hill
More than a million people have learned the secrets of effective conversation using Conversationally Speaking. This revised edition provides more ways to improve conversational skills by asking questions that promote conversation, learning how to listen so that others will be encouraged to talk, reducing anxiety in social situations and more.
Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion
by Jay Heinrichs
from Three Rivers Press
Thank You for Arguing is your master class in the art of persuasion, taught by professors ranging from Bart Simpson to Winston Churchill. The time-tested secrets the book discloses include Cicero’s three-step strategy for moving an audience to actionĂ‘as well as Honest Abe’s Shameless Trick of lowering an audience’s expectations by pretending to be unpolished. But it’s also replete with contemporary techniques such as politicians’ use of “code” language to appeal to specific groups and an eye-opening assortment of popular-culture dodges, including:
The Eddie Haskell Ploy
Eminem’s Rules of Decorum
The Belushi Paradigm
Stalin’s Timing Secret
The Yoda Technique
Whether you’re an inveterate lover of language books or just want to win a lot more anger-free arguments on the page, at the podium, or over a beer, Thank You for Arguing is for you. Written by one of today’s most popular online language mavens, it’s warm, witty, erudite, and truly enlightening. It not only teaches you how to recognize a paralipsis and a chiasmus when you hear them, but also how to wield such handy and persuasive weapons the next time you really, really want to get your own way.
Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion
by George Thompson
from Harper Paperbacks
Improve communication, resolve conflicts, and avoid the most common conversational disasters through simple, easily remembered strategies that deflect and redirect negative behaviour.
Verbal Judo is the martial art of the mind and mouth that can show you how to be better prepared in every verbal encounter. Listen and speak more effectively, engage people through empathy (the most powerful word in the English language), avoid the most common conversational disasters, and use proven strategies that allow you to successfully communicate your point of view and take the upper hand in most disputes.
The Dance of Connection: How to Talk to Someone When You're Mad, Hurt, Scared, Frustrated, Insulted, Betrayed, or Desperate
by Harriet Lerner
from Harper Paperbacks
In her most affirming and life-changing book yet, Dr. Harriet Lerner teaches us how to restore love and connection with the people who matter the most. In The Dance of Connection we learn what to say (and not say) when:
- We need an apology, and the person who has harmed us won't apologize or be accountable.
- We don't know how to take a conversation to the next level when we feel desperate.
- We feel worn down by the other person's criticism, negativity, or irresponsible behavior.
- We have been rejected or cut off, and the other person won't show up for the conversation.
- We are struggling with staying or leaving, and we don't know our "bottom line."
- We are convinced that we've tried everything -- and nothing changes.
Filled with compelling personal stories and case examples, Lerner outlines bold new "voice lessons" that show us how to speak with honor and personal integrity, even when the other person behaves badly.
Whether we're dealing with a partner, parent, sister, or best friend, The Dance of Connection teaches us how to navigate our most important relationships with clarity, courage, and joyous conviction.
Set Your Voice Free: How To Get The Singing Or Speaking Voice You Want
by Roger Love
from Little, Brown and Company
For anyone who wants to turn his dreams of singing into reality, for anyone who is self-conscious about speaking or singing in public, for anyone who hates the sound of her own voice on answering machines-SET YOUR VOICE FREE offers the solution. With innovative techniques and enjoyable exercises that have worked wonders with his professional clients, the internationally acclaimed vocal coach Roger Love demonstrates how to carry a tune, expand vocal range, and speak with ease, confidence, and effectiveness. - Roger Love is one of the foremost vocal and singing authorities in the world, having coached leading actors, celebrity speakers, and musicians, including Billy Baldwin; Mtley Cre; Earth, Wind Fire; Billy Idol; the Jacksons; Martin Landau; Def Leppard; Phish; Iggy Pop; and Anthony Robbins.
Pronounce It Perfectly in English with Audio CDs (Pronounce It Perfectly)
by Jean Yates
from Barron''s Educational Series
ESL students, TOEFL and TOEIC test takers, and all others for whom English is a second language and who want to improve their pronunciation will find this book and compact disc combination especially instructive. The new second edition presents a significantly increased number of exercises, all of them providing practice in every sound that is specific to American-style English. Emphasis is on stress and intonation patterns in conversational English. Recognition of these patterns is essential to fluent speech and listening comprehension. Four compact discs replace the first editionÂ’s audiocassettes, and have been increased by 50 minutes in playing time to a total of 5 hours and 20 minutes.
Great Speeches by African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and Others (Thrift Edition)
by James Daley
from Dover Publications
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