David Porter » Entries tagged with "public speaking David Porter"
Oxymorons, Verbosity and Tautology: Mangling the Language
English is a living language, constantly adapting, changing, absorbing. When some people mangle it too far, senses of perspective, poetry and humour help. ‘Oh the games people play now/never meaning what they say now/never saying what they mean’. Lyrics from the song Games People Play (1968) by Joe South sum up the fact that few people say what they mean. Ever. According to net language course provider, Word Power, in the days of Shakespeare/Milton (say 16th and 17th centuries), the English vocabulary contained about 60,000 words. Today, it’s well over a million and growing. If words are the building blocks of thinking, then accurate language is vital. Statements of the Obvious On a day with particularly strong weather, people will invariably point out to somebody else things like: ‘What a lovely day!’ or ‘A … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Public Speaking
Do you need a speaker at your event? Do you need some help with your own public speaking? Are you filled with terror at the idea of speaking out in public? Is it holding you back in your work? your social life? I can help on either or both counts. From the House of Commons to the Royal Albert Hall, from a congressional breakfast in Washington DC to campaign meetings, protests, public meetings in school and village halls, on the streets, Christian and business meetings and dinners and breakfasts, Rotary lunches/dinners, weddings and funerals: my public speaking experience is wide. Whatever the occasion, I aim to strike the right note with appropriate humour, anecdotes and experiences from my richly varied life, or research thoroughly to speak on new ground. I can speak at many … Read entire article »
Filed under: Public Speaking