Breathtaking Communication
By Fiona Brennan-Scott
Tools and Techniques for everyday leaders.
Breathtaking Communication is a book which helps the reader to not just understand the importance of audience engagement but gives them a series of tools and techniques to do it effectively, from the inside out, from breathing and standing correctly, to using the room and slides to great advantage.
Often people make a career choice, such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths/Accounting, that doesn’t require/focus on people engagement.
But as they become subject-matter experts and leaders, their inability to get their message across in spoken communication, or running meetings may hinder their ability to progress. Just like my coaching and training, this book will bridge that gap.
On Amazon, the book is UK £22 plus postage. The signed copies come directly from Fiona and are UK £27, including postage.
Foreword by Graeme Codrington
Whether you are a professional speaker, with years of experience and hundreds of speeches under your belt, or starting out just realising the importance of the spoken word to your life and career, this book is for you. It will take you from where you are through your next few steps of development, regardless of your starting point.
Just like Fiona, whether in front or behind the curtains, the stage has always held an appeal for me. But the place I enjoy the most is standing in the backstage wings, as near to the technical crew as possible, as the last minute preparations for the opening scene are underway. There’s a hushed freneticism about those moments: final checks, warm ups, last minute changes, nervous anticipation. The hard preparation work has been done – now comes the moment of truth.
That’s what this book is about: the hard work before the moment of truth. But with each page, you’ll pick up Fiona’s passion and enthusiasm for doing the preparation work before the delivery that needs to be done. In fact, like her and me, you might begin to discover that all of the planning, practising and preparation that goes into giving a powerful presentation (or interview or performance) is every bit as fun and rewarding as the event itself.
Standing in the wings, waiting for your turn to take the stage – whether literally or metaphorically – is a magic moment to experience if you know you’ve done the preparation and are ready for action. You’ll find the most comprehensive set of preparation tools in the pages of this book – more than enough to ensure you’re ready for whatever stage awaits you.
Fiona suggests that the book can be accessed like a Treasury, using the chapter titles to decide where to dip in and extract valuable insights. I agree that this is what the book will become for you, but you’d be ill-advised to skip any of the chapters or appendices, in my opinion. There are nuggets of gold in every single chapter.
As someone who has been speaking for a living for three decades, each chapter gave me something to consider, something new to try and fresh insights into a world I know very well. The Resonator Scale definitely turned heads in our house, as I took up my speaker’s pose in front of a mirror and loudly went through this vocal exercise, much to the amusement of my unsuspecting family. For those just starting out as speakers, this is more than a Treasury – it’s a map, a guidebook and an instruction manual. And it goes way beyond the mere mechanics of speaking, incorporating many additional tips and tools, from interview technique to the structure of a good wedding speech.
But be warned: this is not a book you can just read. It’s packed with practical exercises and advice that clearly comes from Fiona’s own decades of experience. Reading the book is obviously a good start (a ‘very good place to start’), but the real value will come from finding the time and space to practice what you read, and implement what you learn in these pages. And then, of course, to do them again and again – in private practice and public performance.
With this book as your guide, you’re just going to get better and better at delivering the spoken word to an audience. And as far as I am concerned, that will make the world a better place.
Graeme Codrington
Speaker, Author, Expert on the Future of Work
CEO of TomorrowToday Global
Recipient of multiple speaking awards, including Speaker Hall of Fame recognition from the Professional Speakers Associations of the UK & Ireland, and of South Africa, and TEDx Shorts Global Featured Speaker 2021.
Tipperary woman’s book is ‘a true gem in the art of communication’
Breathtaking Communication was written by Fiona Brennan-Scott from Clonmel.
A Clonmel woman now based in south Oxfordshire, who specialises in voice and speech coaching and training business leaders and subject matter experts, will sign copies of her book at its Tipperary launch in Clonmel next week.
Breathtaking Communication, Tools and Techniques for Everyday Leaders, is the title of the book by Fiona Brennan-Scott, which will be launched at Clonmel library from 3.45-5pm on Saturday week, February 18.
