Thursday, December 30, 2010

Book review: "So What?: How to Communicate What Really Matters to Your Audience"

Yesterday, I finished reading - So What?: How to Communicate What Really Matters to Your Audience written by Mark Magnacca. I liked the book so thought would write a few words about it and hence this post.

The book is organized in about 125 pages containing 10 chapters all of which essentially convey one single central message i.e. to communicate effectively by answering the "So What" question. Mark has used a simple tone and has clearly illustrated with several examples that effective communication is a must have tool which, can make you a better marketer, presenter and orator. Every chapter of the book begins with a unique quote which tells us the theme for that chapter. My favorite quote from the book comes at the beginning of the 8th chapter :

"The difference between the right word and almost the right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." -- Mark Twain

I also enjoyed reading the examples of how Coca-Cola came to market domination and how President John F. Kennedy announced his desire to land a man on the moon. My favorite phrase from the book is the title of chapter 7 : "winging it versus orchestration". I firmly believe that good preparation is absolutely necessary to make a solid presentation or speech.

In summary, the book teaches how to be a better communicator by always keeping the audience in the mind. If you want to be a better sales-person, presentation-maker or public-speaker, this book is definitely worth a read.

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