Gettysburg Approach to Writing & Speaking 'provides opportunity to learn at the feet of a master'

Online, May 15, 2010 (Newswire.com) - "Why do we consider Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address to be one of the greatest speeches of all time?" asks Norm Goldman, editor & publisher of the Bookpleasures website, in his review of The Gettysburg Approach to Writing & Speaking like a Professional.

The answer? Because the Gettysburg Address incorporates all the essential principles of good writing. In only 272 carefully crafted words, Lincoln says more than most people could say in several thousand.

"It is these principles that author Philip Yaffe skillfully teaches in this invaluable book concerning the techniques of good writing and speaking," Goldman says. "In addition, Yaffe throws in many priceless tips and techniques accumulated over a span of four decades as a professional writer."

The Gettysburg Approach to Writing & Speaking like a Professional is divided into two sections. "The first 98 pages," Goldman explains, "deal with the theory behind good writing and speaking. It is essential that these theoretical principles are well understood before moving onto the examples and exercises that comprise the appendices or the second section of the book."

The fundamental principles of good writing (and good speaking) in the first half of the book include such things as the expository writing attitude, clarity, conciseness, density, and the inverted pyramid.

The "expository writing attitude" states that the best way to approach an expository (non-fiction) text is the assumption that no one will want to read it. Therefore, the writer's first concern should be to determine his audience will want to read, not what he wants to say. In short, first capture attention, then capture the mind.

"Clarity remains imperative in both writing and speaking," says Mr. Goldman. Mr. Yaffe's book recasts this amorphous, rather subjective concept into a quasi-objective three-step formula: 1) emphasize what is of key importance, 2) de-emphasize what is of secondary importance, 3) eliminate what is of no importance.

Mr. Yaffe recasts the subjective concept of conciseness into a quasi-objective two-step formula: 1) be as long as necessary, i.e. adequately cover all essential material, 2) be as short as possible, i.e. avoid unnecessary verbiage.

"Then there is the matter of density (defined as precise information, logically linked)."It is here we generate reader confidence and interest. It is also where mind control plays a role -- the more precise information we present, the more we control the reader's or listener's mind," Goldman says.

To make these principles concrete, the second half of the book provides 13 appendices with exercises and detailed analyses of common writing problems and their solutions.

"It is not easy to see the flaws in your writing and that is what makes the process of revision difficult. The key to dealing with the problem is to learn to look at your work with an editor's eye and Yaffe supplies you with the necessary tools in helping you analyze, evaluate and improve your written and oral presentations.

"What makes this book different from the many others that deal with the same topic is its creative approach in using the Gettysburg Address as a vehicle for its lessons," Goldman says. "It is an excellent resource for writers and speakers and moreover, it is not very often where we have the opportunity to learn at the feet of a great writing master," he concludes.

Biographical Information

Philip Yaffe was born in Boston in 1942 and grew up in Los Angeles. In 1965 he graduated in mathematics from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), where he was also editor-in-chief of the Daily Bruin, the daily student newspaper.

Mr. Yaffe has more than 40 years of experience in journalism and marketing communication. At various points in his career, he has been a teacher of journalism, a reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal, an account executive with a major international press relations agency, European marketing communication director with two major international companies, and a founding partner of a marketing communication agency in Brussels, Belgium, where he has lived since 1974.

He can be reached either at [email protected] or [email protected].