On Speaking Well

As a speaker of English as my second language
(Japanese being my native tongue), Noonan's
book presents clealy how to communicate well.

Plus, with all her tips, she is flexible enough
to quote Mother Teresa's speech at Washington DC
(which violated most of the rules that Noonan
suggested) to show what a good communication is
all about.

I completely agree with Falls Church's comments about this book.

Noonan harps on the need for simplicity, yet fails to drive home her points. She is constantly meandering, even though her chapters are short. There are good tips, but no lessons. It's no wonder there isn't any table of contents.

Although her anecdotes can be encouraging for those speaking in public, overall this is a dissappointing experience.

This book is a reprint of the book "Simply Speaking" with a new title and a cover obviously redesigned to cash in on the success of "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser. At a glance, both paperbacks look like separate volumes of the same work. The similarity ends there. Noonan's work is pedestrian as Zinsser's is absorbing. Unlike Noonan, Zinsser has the knack to capture the essence of an idea in a memorable phrase. Unlike Zinsser, Noonan's short chapters have little conceptual integrity and take too many turns.

The book has good moments and plenty of good advice drawn from Noonan's valuable experience in top jobs as a speech writer. Given the vast domain of the subject and the size of the book I expected to find no waste in it, and given Noonan's credentials I expected a more terse, penetrating style, a la Strunk and White or..., a la Zinsser.

Noonan narrates how John Sununu found an objectionable phrase (muscular altruism) in a speech she had written and told her to kill it. There is another one in this book (anal-compulsive-type person) more deserving of killing. She uses it to reinforce another phrase (neurotic-perfectionist), which needs no reinforcement. No doubt our rich language has words of equal color and better scent for vivid characterizations. I like to have read this book but I did not enjoy reading it. Noonan's consistently chooses the impressive over the appropriate.

The new title and cover worked well--I bought the book. When comparing "On Writing Well" with "On Speaking well," it reminds me of a contrast I find in music between those who use the guitar as a percussion instrument to produce an impressive barrage of sound, and those who pluck the strings with economy and produce inspiring tasty licks.

I didn't find too many ideas in these audio tapes that I hadn't found in other books on speeches. What sets Ms. Noonan's audiobook apart is that it is easier and much more interesting to listen to. If you are selecting your first audiobook on the fundamentals of delivering or writing a speech, this is the one to get.