The gift of the gab : how eloquence works / David Crystal.

"We all know eloquence when we hear it. But what exactly is it? And how might we gain more of it for ourselves? This entertaining and, yes, eloquent book illuminates the power of language from a linguistic point of view and provides fascinating insights into the way we use words. David Crystal, a world-renowned expert on the history and usage of the English language, probes the intricate workings of eloquence. His lively analysis encompasses everyday situations (wedding speeches, business presentations, storytelling) as well as the oratory of great public gatherings. Crystal focuses on the here and now of eloquent speaking--from pitch, pace, and prosody to jokes, appropriateness, and how to wield a microphone. He explains what is going on moment by moment and examines each facet of eloquence. He also investigates topics such as the way current technologies help or hinder our verbal powers, the psychological effects of verbal excellence, and why certain places or peoples are thought to be more eloquent than others. In the core analysis of the book, Crystal offers an extended and close dissection of Barack Obama's electrifying "Yes we can" speech of 2008, in which the president demonstrated full mastery of virtually every element of eloquence--from the simple use of parallelism and an awareness of what not to say, to his brilliant conclusion constructed around two powerful words: dreams and answers"-- Provided by publisher

Epigraph -- Prologue -- Value-added speech -- Eloquence everywhere -- Knowing how -- How long have I got? -- Where will I be? -- Who am I talking to? (To whom am I talking?) -- Who am I talking to -- abroad? -- What to say? -- When do you say it? -- How do they do it? The memory game -- How do they do it? The rule of three -- How do they do it? Weight control -- How do they do it? Order, order -- How do they do it? Variation -- How do they do it? Being natural -- Sounding -- natural -- Rates of exchange -- The melody lingers on -- Build-ups, beats, and breaks -- Paralanguage -- Mind your technology -- Talking about content ... -- Reading it -- Nerve ending -- Homo eloquens -- Appendix 1 Obama's victory speech delivered at Grant Park, Chicago, 4 November 2008 -- Appendix 2 Martin Luther King's speech delivered at the March on Washington, 28 August 1963 -- Endnotes -- Further reading -- Index of personalities -- Index of subjects -- Illustration credits

Print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

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