It's the Way You Say It 

Learn the art of clear, dynamic communication in Carol Fleming's new title!

By Carol A. Fleming, PhD

“No other skills will position you ahead of your competition as much as good speaking and presentation skills. No book approaches the depth and breadth of Dr. Carol Fleming’s It’s the Way You Say It.” -Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE, keynote speaker, executive speech coach, and president of Fripp & Associates

The most direct way you convey your intelligence, expertise, professionalism, and personality to other people is through talking to them. Whether we like it or not, people form judgments about you based not only on what you say but on how you say it. This is particularly true in business situations, where first impressions really count. You may have only a few minutes to interview for a job, pitch your services, describe your business plan, or close a sale.

Unfortunately most people have no idea what they sound like. And even if they do, they don’t think they can change it. They assume it’s something they’re born with, as immutable as height. But it’s not. It’s the Way You Say It offers a thorough, nuts-and-bolts guide to becoming aware and taking control of how you communicate with others.

Carol Fleming provides detailed advice and scores of exercises for understanding how others hear you and for dealing with specific speech problems like talking too fast, too high, too soft, and so on. But she goes far beyond that to home in on the more subtle aspects of vocal communication. She shows how to vary your vocal patterns to make your speech more dynamic and compelling, use grammar and vocabulary to increase your clarity and impact, and reinforce your message with nonverbal cues. An entire section of the book focuses on communication issues in the workplace - interviews, presentations, voice mail, and more. She puts a human face on her advice through vivid before-and-after stories of forty men and women who came to her for help.

No matter how brilliant you are, if you can't communicate well you’ll be stymied at every turn, on the job and off. Like it or not, your voice is you. Carol Fleming gives you the tools you need to make your voice an effective instrument not just for conveying information but for conveying the essence of who you are to the world.

Carol A. Fleming, PhD, is a speech pathologist and a personal communication coach with thirty years of experience working with thousands of clients from all walks of life. She is the founder of the Sound of Your Voice, a consultancy specializing in vocal development and communication training.