What Jay said about my book, “It’s the Way You Say It”

January 26, 2011 by Admin · Leave a Comment 

Guest Blog Posting by Jay Conner, Richmond, California

I know Carol Fleming personally, and am vaguely familiar with her work. I’ve never been a client, but I knew she was in speech therapy.

Her book, however, is a revelation. What she does is so far beyond what you think of as speech therapy as to be a whole ‘nother world, She acts like a Minister of Communication, in the religious, not the governmental sense of the word.

In this book she shows you how to present yourself, to show yourself off to best advantage.

Consider how you detail a car, or how you stage a house to best show it off.

She teaches you how to do this with yourself.

I always thought that that if I had something to say, all I had to do was to get the message clear and the technique would take care of itself. And I wasn’t particularly critical about my natural, intuitive way of doing that presenting.

Dr. Fleming wants me to move that up a notch.

Her book is concise, direct and to the point, with lots of personal stories from her experience to make a lively reading experience. Tight, spare and engaging, with useful stories and clear instructions. You will also learn how a sentence with eleven consecutive instances of the word “had” can, in a proper context and properly punctuated, make a meaningful sentence. Page 63.

But that’s not important, it’s just diverting. Part of the funny side of the book.

The book has a more serious purpose, some real depth and the benefit of years of her experience in vocal development and communications training. Not everyone can trek out to San Francisco to engage her services, but everyone can benefit from her coaching in this book.

Even, especially, people who don’t know they need her help

In a sense, this book is a conversation with an author who has keen insight into the human condition, and a willingness – eagerness – to share her knowledge. Enthusiasm for the human condition runs through her stories, which are case histories of problems in human communication.

Filed under Books, Personal Development, Speech/Voice Improvement · Tagged with , , , ,

How can a book improve your communication?

November 9, 2010 by Admin · Leave a Comment 

How can a book improve your communication?  There are two ways, you can read it or you can put it on your head.

Explanation:
Actually there is only one book to read that will really be helpful for the wide array of communication needs of the modern world and that book is the one I wrote; It’s the Way You Say It: Becoming Articulate, Well-spoken and Clear. See below.

The book you put on your head needs to be hard cover – (Mine comes in hard cover!) – so it can balance on your head.  Now, why on earth would you want to do such a thing?

Because it will act as a feed back mechanism about the way you hold your body, your posture. Your carriage will have a marked influence in how you are perceived.

  • You cannot be dignified if your head is bobbing up and down, nodding or tilting.
  • You cannot look mature if you tend to cock your head to one side.
  • You cannot look ‘together’ if you bounce along as you walk or allow your shoulders to slouch forward and pull your head out of alignment.

Everybody admires strong, upright posture.

This is where the book comes in as an excellent source of information.

1.  As you look in the full length mirror, hold yourself in an up-right (but natural) posture and place the book flat on the top of your head.

2. Try turning your head from side to side, keeping your chin line straight. Take some steps forward and back and from side to side, keeping that book in place.

3. Walk around the room, keeping that book in place on your head.

4. Now add the speech component; start talking and notice how much you want to move your head.

5. Sit on front of a mirror and call someone on the phone. Place the book on your head and start talking. You will probably lose the book a couple of times.

6. At all times, pay attention to the alignment of your head and body as you use the book, so you can learn how to hold your head and body upright without the book.

7. Give yourself daily practice with this routine for a week and you should be able to ‘straighten up’ with only conscious effort (and no book).

Announcement: Dr. Fleming’s book can now be purchased at Alexander Book Co and Book Passage in both Corte Madera and San Francisco!

If you want to learn more about how Dr. Fleming can help you improve your communication skills, please call her at telephone 415.391.9179 or send her an email at query@speechtraining.com

Carol Fleming, Ph.D., is the author of “It’s the Way You Say It”! Becoming Articulate, Well-spoken and Clear. A comprehensive guide to vocal development and improvement of communication skills. .  To get your own copy, go to http://amzn.to/ItsTheWayYouSayIt

Filed under Books, Business Communication, Social Communication, Speech/Voice Improvement · Tagged with , , ,