This book caught me off guard. I heard Bowe interviewed and liked him, so I picked this up. But I still assumed this was going to be a self-help book about public speaking with some anecdotes thrown in. It's less about self help though, and in fact has only minimal content in the way of tips to help you improve your public speaking, and more about the lost art of speaking (and teaching speaking) and why losing that art matters. Bowe's journey through Toastmasters is fun and well done, but I got

No es un manual, colección de consejos ni mucho menos de auto-ayuda.Es la historia de la curiosidad de un hombre por aprender el arte de la oratoria, su dedicación a investigar sus inicios e impacto actual en la sociedad; así como descubrir sus claves y recalcar su necesidad.Tiene éxito al unirse a Toastmasters International, una ONG cuyo objetivo es promover la comunicación, el discurso público y el liderazgo. El autor nos lleva de la mano a través de todo el programa que debe completar por par...

Both helpful and entertaining.John Bowe draws on his own experiences to explain his points. A relatively short read, I recommend this to anyone who has anxiety over public speaking, and believe anyone who can benefit from the advice of this book.I received an Advanced Review Copy through Goodreads giveaways.

I won this book in the giveaway! I learned a few more skills than I already had from my speech classes. John Bowe is very knowledgeable and explains his concepts and tips in a simple way everyone can understand and implement.

A short little book that probably should have been an even shorter article. It’s fine. It’s about the author going to Toastmasters to get better at public speaking. I wanted more advice and tips that I could put in to practice for myself. There’s a very good appendix at the end that finally delivers just that, but I hate that I had to wait that long to get to it.

One of 2020's most important books. We need John Bowe more than ever.

A quick and enjoyable read, especially for fans of Toastmasters (including current Toastmasters like me). John Bowe chronicles his journey from discovering Toastmasters to joining, and through each of the ten projects as he completes the "Competent Communicator" program. Interwoven with his personal story are interesting facts about the origination of rhetoric, its value, its use in Ancient Greece and Rome, and its users, including Cicero and Isocrates. More contemporary authorities are also cit...

“I Have Something To Say” hits on some pretty deep truths about the challenges of modern life from an unexpected angle: the art of rhetoric, particularly as the author experienced it through his experience at Toastmasters. It’s well-written and engaging read that moves at a brisk pace. Definitely worth reading!

While this book is essentially a pitch for Toastmasters, I must say John does a great job of breaking down the structure and need for public speaking. It goes beyond that though, using the art of rhetoric to connect with an audience and persuade them as opposed to the seemingly diabolical attack speech we're seeing all around us today.

Great book , was looking for a bit more direction but overall I learned a lot about myself and things i should work on. The book puts you in perspective of a shy public speaker and focuses his journey to mastering the art of public speaker. The book marketed the heck out of the club mentioned but it kinda worked because I am interested in it now.

A light but entertaining introduction to the art of public speaking. certainly whets your appetite to delve into this important topic for society.Recommended for reading while practicing during several months.

Very cool book. I'd noticed that a lot of my friends were joining improv clubs (or were, before COVID). I think the reason why is related to what Bowe talks about: we need help learning to connect to each other in person and not just passively on social media.

This is a great book about power of words & strength we gain from learning how to use them better to show that we do not suffer from speech anxiety because we are anxious because we have not learn to use word to connect with everyone around us.

Mr. Bowe tells quite a tale about his Toastmasters experiences. I especially liked the part about encouraging people to talk to strangers. I once did a Toastmasters speech on that topic!

Excellent bookI bought it because I was drawn to the story of this man's s cousin but I learned so so much more. I highly recommend this book. Excellent read!!!

Loved this read on the history of public speaking and the author's journey to becoming a better speaker himself.

Read this book if you want to get a "feel" of Toastmasters before joining Toastmasters. John's writing style is excellent and this book is a narrative of the author's personal transformation.If you just wanted a manual, there is a two pager appendix with some tips on how to write better speeches. But that's not the focus of this book.

This book is a good introduction to rhetoric. He repeats multiple times the main point of his book: when you give a speech, put your audience at the forefront of your mind, not yourself and not your ideas. He says this in multiple ways from multiple angles... so you better not miss it!One glaring historical error takes place on pg. 146 where he talkes about the demise of rhetoric as a topic of study and blames, among other things, Christianity. Why? Because we insist 1. "the Bible is the only so...

I really enjoyed reading this author's point of view on public speaking. As a public speaker I wanted to learn more about what makes the greats so great. This book was a case study of a chapter of Toastmasters in the Midwest of the US. I thought using the case study approach was so interesting and really provided solid examples of how people greatly improved or gave up and never returned to the club.It was also interesting to hear his own story of arrogance about his abilities and having the lig...