Say It Like Shakespeare How to Give a Speech Like Hamlet, Persuade Like Henry V, and Other Secrets From the World’s Greatest Communicator Thomas Leech McGraw-Hill New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto abc McGraw-Hill Copyright ©2001 by Thomas Leech. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976,no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means,or stored in a database or retrieval system,without the prior written permission of the publisher. 0-07-138270-4 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title:0-07-137315-2. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. 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McGraw-Hill and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill nor its licen- sors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy,error or omission,regardless of cause,in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill has no responsibility for the content of any infor- mation accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect,incidental,special,punitive,consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work,even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This lim- itation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in con- tract,tort or otherwise. DOI:10.1036/0-07-138270-4 Contents Acknowledgments v Part I: The Path to Better Communication 1 1. Why the Bard as Communication Guru? 3 2. Exceeding Wise or Counterfeit Rascal: What’s Your Personal Scorecard? 13 3. Mend Your Speech a Little: Ready to Go? 23 Part II: The Sender’s Role 35 4. Speak the Speech, Trippingly: Tune Up That Voice 37 5. Speak Plain and to the Purpose: Enhancing Language Power 47 6. Is Your English Frittered? Overcoming Language Deficiencies 61 7. Suit the Action to the Word: Body Language That Works for You 79 8. Let the Apparel Proclaim the Man (and Woman): Appearance as a Positive Factor 97 9. Get into a Winning State of Mind 107 Part III: The Receiver and Feedback Roles 117 10. BestowtheSenseof...HeyThere,AreYouListening? 119 iii Copyright2001 Thomas Leech Click Here for Terms of Use CONTENTS 11. Receiver Meets Sender in Q&A 135 12. Test the Verbosity to the Argument: Sharpen Your Critical Listening Skill 145 Part IV: Getting a Good Message 151 13. Tuning In: First, Do Your Homework 153 14. To Speak and Purpose Not? Set Your Approach 165 15. Bait the Hook Well: Organize Your Material 175 16. Let Us Tell Sad Stories: Develop the Substance 189 Part V: The Medium Supports the Message 207 17. Alas, Poor Yorick: Apply Visual Aids Well 209 18. Silence That Dreadful Bell! Use the Medium Wisely 223 Part VI: Competitive Communication 239 19. Gather Your Team: Once More unto the Breech! 241 20. The Readiness Is All: Prepare Well 253 21. Unveil That Knave! This Is a Competition 263 22. A Hit, a Very Palpable Hit! You Won! 271 23. Done to Death by Slanderous Tongues! Uh-oh, You Lost 277 Part VII: Continuing Onward 287 24. Speak—It’s Your Cue: Moving Forward 289 Credits 293 Index of Famous Lines 299 Index 301 iv Acknowledgments I have relied on many sources in researching this fascinatingsubject: books, videos, audios, and performances of many plays I have seen at the San Diego Old Globe Theater, The DelacorteTheaterinNew York City’s Central Park, and theatersat Stratford,Connecticut;Pur- due University; and elsewhere. Because the language—words and punctuation—varies from source to source, I have relied on one pri- mary style guideline: the tattered, yellowed book I’ve been dipping in and out of many years, the 1936 edition of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (edited by William Addis Wright, Garden City Books, NY). Through the many live performances of Shakespeare I’ve seen, some stand out for incredible power, the sort that keep coming to mind a decade or two later. These performers provided memorable evenings and vividness about the power of the characters and words of Shakespeare: Anthony Zerbe as Iago, Victor Buono (at age 19) as Falstaff; James Earl Jones as Othello; JacquelineBrooksasCleopatra; MorrisCarnovskyasShylock;andJonathanMcMurtryasmanychar- acters. Also highly valuable to me has been my sounding board of re- viewers and critics: Leslie Johnson-Leech, Seymour Zeenkov, Jack Farnan, and Pamela Adams, all Hamlet’s “Wisest friend [who] shall hear and judge.” Their counsel has been sound and much of it even incorporated into this book, although they are in no way to blame foranyperceivedremainingdeficiencies.Thanks,too,toMaryGlenn and Scott Amerman and the rest of the editing and production team at McGraw-Hill for their guidance and skill in getting this fromman- uscript to bound book. To all of the above, borrowing from Twelfth Night’s Sebastian: “I can no other answer make but thanks and thanks and ever....” v Copyright2001 Thomas Leech Click Here for Terms of Use This page intentionally left blank. Part I The Path to Better Communication The Merchantof Venice.2,2 Copyright2001 Thomas Leech Click Here for Terms of Use In Part I you are asked to take a fresh look at how communication fits into your business and personal worlds. Then you are shown how to size up how you might rank on a communication scorecard. And finally you are urged to commit to your own communication improvement program (and then to enjoy the rewards that follow). Chapter 1 Why the Bard as Communication Guru? No man is the lord of any thing, Though in and of him there be much consisting, Till he communicate his parts to others. Ulysses,Troilusand Cressida.3, 3 We strive mightily to enhance our communication ability. As we do so, we look to various gurus and sources of wisdom for inspiration. How about you? Have you sat through company training semi- nars? Attended college extension classes? Picked up books on of- fice communication or business presentations (and actually read them)? Been coached, like it or not, by upper managers or outside consultants? Joined your local Toastmasters Club? Even started dressing for success? All these efforts for self-improvement try to absorb and apply the latest hot stuff. If you do any of these, good for you. You can also gain much insight into communicating effectively by heeding the advice of a chap named William Shakespeare, who achieved lasting fame several centuries back as a writer, not a com- municationguru.Evenso,theBardofAvonwovemanyobservations pertinent to communicating into his tales of high intrigue and low comedy. 3 Copyright2001 Thomas Leech Click Here for Terms of Use