The Educator (Volume 45) - IAMPETH

BOOK REVIEWS
Our readers are interested in books of merit,
bat especially in books of interest and value to
commercial teachers including books of special
educational value and books on business subjects.
All such books will be briefly reviewed
in these columns, the object being to give suffi-
cient description of each to enable our readers
to determine its value.
Make Yourself a Better Speaker,
by E. C. Buehler, Professor of Speech
and Dramatic Art, University of
Kansas. Published by The Ronald
Press Company, New York. Cloth
cover, 50 pages.
This book is designed for those who realize
that ability as a speaker is worth developing,
that it is an asset of real importance. This
book is written primarily for two specific
groups. Included in the first of these groups
are men and women in business and the professions,
the vast number of laymen speakers,
those who from time to time have to conduct
public meetings or make short talks.
Such people are found in every city and community.
Churches, schools, lodges, clubs, and
all kinds of organizations call for leadership
which makes itself felt through the spoken
word. These are the men and women who
make the wheels go round.
The second group includes those who. in the
course of their schooling, can or want to
take only one speech course, and consequently
want as much sound advice as possible, condensed
into the least possible space. These
are the students of engineering, law, business,
medicine. It is hoped that the book may give
to all of these persons help which will be of
definite and great value in their future
careers.
To a great many persons in both these
groups, the textbook designed for a full college
course may seem too academic, lengthy,
and difficult to read. In this volume the
author has made even,- effort to present the
subject in a simplified and attractive manner,
and to translate the basic theories and
methods of good speaking into the easily understandable
language of the average person's
experiences and beliefs, yet not to
any soundm of principle that account.
Though the author deals with the making
of a successful speech as something that is
within the reach of everyone, this is in no
sense a book of superficial short-cuts which
proposes to teach how to make a speech "in
ten easy lessons". Anyone seriously interested
in acquiring the command and ease that come
from really understanding how to speak will
The Educator 29
realize that, while important practical and
cultural values of speech are within the reach
of everyone, making an outstandingly successful
speech involves processes which are
too complicated an d delicate to be over-simplified.
Accordingly, it is assumed throughout
that the reader wants to understand the
real nature of his subject.
The author tells his stor>' about public
speaking largely from first-hand expei-ience.
Most of this book is the product of the test
tube. Whatever rules and principles you find
here have been thoroughly tried and tested.
Eighteen years of critically listening to some
forty thousand speeches, both outside and in
the classroom, many of them by men and
women of prominence, have helped to season
and crystallize definite concepts and beliefs
regarding speech making. Time and experience
have helped to sift the kernel from the
chaff. Mere speculative theory has been eliminated
as much as possible, while what is
workable and practical has been retained.
Keeping in mind the purpose of the book
and the limits on the time of the people for
whom it is intended, the author has tried to
give it an arrangement that would lead easily
and naturally into the subject, and progressively
build a grasp of principles step by step.
The book falls broadly into three divisions.
The early chapters present first a guiding philosophy
for speech making. They deal with
the fundamental attitudes necessar>- for successful
speech work. The second division is
embraced in those chapters which explain the
"dimensions" of speech. Here are the essential
theories and principles. Here the old
laws and rules are simplified and recast to
give the reader a commonsense perspective
of speaking. Finally, the third division of
the book takes up specific speech problems,
types of speeches, methods of preparation,
suggestions, hints, exercises and program for
self-training in speech.
The ability to make a good speech has been
highly regarded in all ages—but never more
highly than today. It has become almost a
prerequisite to full success in a business, professional,
or public career.
What Do I Do Now? by Mildred
M. Payne, Instructor of Stenog-raphy.
Office Practice, Business Etiquette,
State Teachers College, Kearney,
Nebraska. Published by The Gregg
Publishing Company, New York,
New York. Cloth cover, 120 pages.
This is a book that treats a neglected but
important factor in business education. This
"Guide to Correct Conduct and Dress for
Business People" provides a training in personality
traits that are essential if our stu-
dents are to obtain and retain positions. Getting
a job and promotion on the job depend
in a large measure on the type of training
that can be obtained from WHAT DO I DO
NOW? It offers a practical method of marketing
one's ability.
In a detailed way, each of the ten chapters
covers one of the following topics : Personality.
Habits That Annoy. Background, Personal
Appearance. Faring Forth, At Dinner,
Voice and Conversation. Introductions, Travel,
and Correspondence. These topics are covered
in the same order in the workbook that
is available. This material trains the student
in what to do by having him do it.
A teacher's manual provides comments and
answers for both the text and workbook.
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